Weronika Gęsicka's 'Encyclopaedia' Project Exposes Fabricated Knowledge Through Photographic Art

Polish visual artist Weronika Gęsicka has created 'Encyclopaedia,' a photographic and artist book project that examines the nature of authoritative knowledge in the digital age. The work compiles hundreds of deliberately false entries—known as 'trap entries'—that were originally planted in real encyclopedias, dictionaries, and online sources like Wikipedia to detect plagiarism. Gęsicka illustrates these fictitious records using manipulated stock photographs and AI-generated imagery, presenting them in a 252-page book containing 862 images. Published in an edition of 1,500 copies by Blow Up Press and Jednostka Gallery in Warsaw, the book mimics the visual grammar of authoritative reference materials to challenge viewers' perceptions of truth. Gęsicka's project explores how photography, often perceived as an objective medium, can be used to manipulate reality, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. The artist, who is nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026, frames the work as a response to contemporary challenges like fake news and the difficulty of distinguishing fact from fiction. An accompanying essay by curator and photography theorist Charlotte Cotton contextualizes the project within broader debates about image manipulation and visual evidence. Gęsicka's practice frequently engages with archival materials, and in 'Encyclopaedia,' she draws on historical illustrations and familiar visual clichés to blur the line between reality and fabrication. The project raises questions about how knowledge is constructed and verified in an era where information is constantly evolving and digital tools make deception increasingly sophisticated.