Subconscious Mining is a collaboration between the artist and a hypnotherapist, exploring the subconscious, leading to interventions in the public space of Groningen as a result of a hypnosis session. Part of a series of public interventions hosted by Het Resort.
Public space often influences people’s subconscious with its commercial and subliminal enticements. Directing the consumer’s gaze, manipulating the atmosphere and presenting a system of values through symbols and icons to identify with.
In order to map out exactly how public space affects his decision-making processes, mood, feelings of safety or desire, Alban Karsten decided to mine his subconscious with the help of a hypnotherapist, since hypnosis increases our sensitivity to suggestion and concentration on a particular subject. Together they compiled a list of 44 questions for his subconscious to answer, ranging from “Do you feel happy when you cross the street?” to “What is the color of public space?” and “Does public space belong more to you than to companies?”.
Their session took off by identifying the challenges and temptations to try to reflect the specific language of the public space, resulting in a public intervention in response to this, suggested by his subconscious while under hypnosis.
Through the artist-hypnotherapist partnership that Subconscious Mining offers, Karsten wants to investigate what it means to let an outsider infiltrate his practice, and whether it is really possible to “unlock” something buried deep inside. To find out if subconscious exploitation can be a form of scientific management for an artist — to improve the production workflow and enhance or manipulate the result of works by contracting your subconscious.
