Tony Oursler's Paranormal Exhibition Explores Technology and Spirituality at Pinacoteca Agnelli

The exhibition 'Paranormal. Tony Oursler vs Gustavo Rol' at the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin presents a dense network of connections between technology and the paranormal. Oursler's video sculptures, such as 'Fantasmino' (2017) and 'Translucent ghost' (2017), play on the contrast between the technological and the supernatural, using screens and projections to create apparitions. The show includes a rich inventory of objects, photographs, and publications from Oursler's personal collection, including fake ectoplasms and spirit photographs from the 19th century. A key section is dedicated to Gustavo Rol (1903-1994), a famous Turin medium and artist, whose 'magical' paintings are displayed. Oursler's new works, like 'Ex Voto e luditte' (2017), incorporate ex-votos from the Santuario della Consolata, featuring small human figures that sing a rebellion against machines. The exhibition also includes a cast of Cesare Lombroso and texts on magnetism and occult sciences. Oursler states he is more interested in what the impulse to believe reveals about us and the social dynamics around belief. The show is the third in a series by Paolo Colombo, following Ed Ruscha and Rosemarie Trockel.