Trevor Paglen’s NFT additionally acts as an entry point into CYCLOPS, a “speculative reality artwork” that takes the audience on a journey through the world of 1960s-era CIA mind control experiments, psychological operations, and unexplained historical anomalies
Get ready to dive into the mind-bending world of Trevor Paglen’s latest project, featuring a mind-blowing blend of gaming and Web3 technologies. This new project, which is closely tied to Paglen’s upcoming solo exhibition at Pace Gallery in New York, is sure to leave you captivated and questioning everything you thought you knew about the intersection of art and technology.
Paglen’s “speculative reality work” is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. Dubbed CYCLOPS, this interactive artwork takes you on a journey through the world of CIA mind control experiments, psychological operations, and unexplained historical anomalies. With documents, videos, and other archival materials produced between the 1950s and early 1970s, CYCLOPS is an immersive, interactive experience that requires active engagement and participation. Get ready to put your analytical skills to the test as you decipher codes, conduct open-source intelligence investigations, and analyze music, literature, and poetry.
But that’s not all. Paglen’s project also includes a series of musical NFTs called PRELUDES. Each NFT is paired with a visual score, inspired by pioneers of algorithmically generated music like John Cage and Iannis Xenakis. With PRELUDES, Paglen harnesses the unique potential of blockchain technology to plant secrets within the NFTs, teaching the fundamentals of cryptography and exploring issues of subjectivity and perception.
But it’s not just the content of this project that’s exciting – it’s the way it engages with cutting-edge technologies like Web3 and NFTs. Produced in collaboration with Art Blocks x Pace Verso, this project is loaded with easter eggs for collectors to uncover and utilize in CYCLOPS. And with a vinyl LP record that contains mysteries and puzzles leading to a collection of files on CYCLOPS’s antiquated mainframe computer interface, users will be able to experience the project in both digital and physical worlds.
Trevor Paglen’s work has always been groundbreaking, but this new project takes things to a whole new level. With its seamless blend of art and technology, it’s sure to captivate audiences and leave them questioning everything they thought they knew about the limits of creativity. Make sure you don’t miss out on this exciting new project, on view from May 12 to July 1 at Pace Gallery in New York.