November 26, 2025, 10 am – 2 pm
Many thanks to the artist, writer and musician Steven Warwick for his lecture CONSPIRACY AS CREATIVE METHOD – A Research Journey from X-Files to Out 1 and discussing the works of our participants within the Studio Program Art Residency at BAI.
“What if conspiracy thinking—often dismissed as paranoid delusion—actually offers valuable methodologies for creative practice? In this artist talk, Steven Warwick traces his research journey from analyzing TV conspiracy narratives to developing conspiracy as a legitimate creative methodology for contemporary artistic practice.
Beginning with his collaborative work ‘Fear Indexing the X-Files’ (co-authored with Nora Khan), Warwick explores how he discovered that conspiracy theories function as creative interpretation systems rather than simply false beliefs. The talk follows his evolution from media analysis through his book ‘Notes on Evil’ to current research into Jacques Rivette’s ‘Out 1’ as the ultimate artistic exploration of conspiracy methodology.
Drawing on Carl Jung’s work on synchronicity and meaningful coincidence, Warwick demonstrates how pattern-recognition, systems-thinking, and speculative narrative construction became central to his interdisciplinary practice spanning performance, writing, and social dramaturgy. Rather than validating specific conspiracy theories, he shows how the underlying cognitive processes can be reappropriated as productive tools for cultural analysis and creative development.
The presentation includes analysis of how these methodologies function in contemporary culture, from Nathan Fielder’s constructed scenarios to the ethics of conspiracy thinking in an era of widespread misinformation.” (Text by courtesy of Steven Warwick)
More information on the Steven Warwick Website.
