Research Catalogue

This research is rooted in nihilism, exploring how the contrast between materiality and spirituality leads to a radical way of perceiving existence. What does it mean to be unable to believe in "what's beyond"? What role does the body play in such an issue? Starting from philosophy, this debate finds expression through art and different iterations, attempts to face the consequences of nihilism.

Islington studio flat 4, at 14 Barnsbury Road, London, 2022, privately rented. Interior design and styling, as art installation. Looted, 2024. Investigatory research with artworks, 2023-24. Interactive research blog. The exposition aims to highlight the role of women within an interwoven narrative about a complex and international criminal case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_(magazine) My personal belongings were still at the property for two months, after I left on 27 March 2024 and was asked to collect them by 3 or 4 April from Woolwich. After I left, the landlords moved in two or three under aged, who I have never met, so that they pretend to be my daughters. Subsequently, they must have been 'removing' them one by one over the last few months and until October 2024. The company behind 14 Barnsbury Road was deemed illegal through the courts, on 22 April, 2024, shortly after I was forced to leave at the end of March. The maintenance employed many Polish citizens, all dressed in black with black caps, adopting the XRW supporters' fashion code. The household of tenants was mixed and multicultural, but mainly British natives, with the exception of a couple from Hong-Kong, an American citizen, and myself, a naturalised British citizen, originally from Greece. Twenty-two (22) and twenty-three (23) photographs, including two (2) plus one (1) of myself: NOT a missing person, from the 2022-2023 period in the eventually looted, in spring 2024, Islington studio. Twenty-four (24) missing persons for twenty-four (24) non-EU and EU fake passports with my family's Greek surname; plus one (1) that might also be connected with a missing Greek teenager, therefore twenty-five (25). Two (2) more missing persons for two (2) more fake passports without my family's surname: an Italian and a Romanian name. Two (2), plus one (1) targeted cultural producers: the anti-fascist Greek musician, Pavlos Fyssas, aka Killah P. (domestic); the Belgian filmmaker of Jewish origins, Chantal Akerman (global), who lived and worked in France, as well as the US, and whose personal details, specifically her life insurance policy and her medical file, got stolen in connection with the case, can be added to the toll of two (2) deceased. My personal details, name known as and artistic name, as well as numbers connected to my personal details, were stolen, too, while I (post-global) was targeted as a cultural producer, an artist and former academic. Was I going to be the third victim? Golden Dawn were originally pagans, drawing from the ancient Greek mythology and ritualistic practices, including human sacrifice. The visual imagery and the art included in the photographs is influenced by the marketing and advertising industry; I brushed shoulders briefly with students in the creative industries teaching at the Winchester School of Art. I used this an ironic commentary on Golden Dawn trying unsuccessfully to create a brand through propaganda, not political marketing. The art world has been traditionally male-dominated. This has not changed dramatically in contemporary art. Female artists have sometimes adopted male attitudes, or personas, to break into the art scene; see Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin from the YBA movement. I hold the view that art is not gendered, that there is no art for women or so-called women's art. Good art transcends such categories, tapping into more universal experiences. Saying this, I would like to quote Nancy Spero, who doesn't crudely distinguish between male and female art, as follows:"What if the default gender for 'artist' were female? What if, when we looked at a work by a woman, we said to ourselves, "That is art," and when we looked at a work by a man, we automatically identified it in our minds as 'men's art'?" In 1999, I wrote a long essay about the architectural uncanny, which I submitted as my graduation thesis for my first MA in architectural theory. I called it "Space as a 'Bad' Object: A criminal investigation on the notion of space". I got inspiration from detective novels and real-life crime stories. The long essay was about the role of architectural space in crime. It was unsupervised until submission: I received a distinction by a Bartlett staff member. I took the digital photographs in conceptual adherence with that essay. I was a postgraduate philosophy student 9/2017-11/2019 at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. In this exposition, I include new photographs from a series of digital photography called "Forensics", taken with my mobile phone, after I was forced to leave the Islington property I was renting, on 27 March 2024. I gave the photography series that name, because it has served the purpose of investigating, recording and tracking a crime, for which architectural space, such as private rentals, has been used. For Chris, my former neighbour, who was suddenly transferred by his employer, from London, where his daughter lives, to somewhere outside of London; and for Lawrence, a second generation immigrant from Nigeria, whose temporary post was prematurely terminated, though he was planning to return to his legal studies. And for Ali. And for Oliver, also my former neighbour. In memory of Howard, also a tenant at Bellview, and former neighbour. To all those who don't just "play" the cultural and racial diversity clause; they don't just rely on identitarian politics, because the class problem has not been resolved for them, either; but also because generalising on identity (for instance religion, race, gender) is an unsophisticated way of preventing strategic and/or tactical alliances, necessary for protecting the rights of minorities or other underprivileged groups and populations. Saying this, the UK must stand up against racism, especially against people of African descent. Special thanks to two white British men, who worked in France ("Fiennes") and Spain ("Clooney"). A Nigerian was among the Golden Dawn victims of assassination in Greece. I was listening frequently to Massive Attack, a British trip-hop band, when I was living in Islington. Sophie Calle is a French writer and photographer, working on themes of identity, intimacy and everyday existence. Her work is partly inspired by the detective fiction genre. She wrote an art book, to accompany some of her photography, called "Double Game", inspired by her written correspondence with the fiction writer Paul Auster.

Design for interactive art installation with urban regeneration proposal, as well as video about environmentalism and our technologically mediated private and public lives; installation catalogue design with photography and textual collage, 2021-2023. "There is a massive abundance of goods that end up in landfills. With such abundance of goods, no one should be deprived." Visitors will have to leave an unwanted item of theirs and take another to collect the installation catalogue. The installation will be monitored for this purpose. Designed with Wi-Fi light technology for agility training, the interactive floor in the entrance will be controlled by the visitors through a tablet computer that will allow them to select the difficulty level. The exposition offers a critical viewpoint to the contemporary gallery-mediated commercial environment by making reference to the non-monetary economies of artistic and cultural production. Art "is an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy". The enemy is whoever exploits their fellows out of egoism or personal interest (Pablo Picasso). With summary and questions about David Murakami Wood's article "The Global Turn to Authoritarianism", 'Surveillance and Society', (15), 3/4, 2017: 357-370.

Theory of Misplacement By Dorian Vale — A Treatise in the Post-Interpretive Movement Theory of Misplacement is a foundational treatise in the Post-Interpretive canon developed by Dorian Vale. It identifies a crucial but often ignored aesthetic violence: the misplacement of art through curatorial overreach, critical projection, or institutional dislocation. Unlike theories that focus solely on interpretation, this theory addresses what happens when a work is placed—physically, linguistically, or contextually—into a space that distorts its moral, cultural, or spiritual gravity. Vale argues that not all aesthetic violence is enacted through misreading. Some is enacted through mis-siting—when works are exhibited without regard for their ontological weight, placed in institutional frames that suffocate their resonance, or paired with language that collapses their dignity. This treatise outlines the differences between interpretation, erasure, and misplacement, showing how the latter often masquerades as reverence while enacting dilution. Through philosophical analysis, metaphysical framing, and case-based reflection, Theory of Misplacement refines the post-interpretive imperative: Not only must the critic resist speaking on behalf of the work — they must also ensure the work is not spoken over by its surroundings. This theory complements Absential Aesthetics and Stillmark Theory in establishing a new custodial vocabulary for protecting the sanctity of placement, presence, and poetic truth in contemporary aesthetics. Vale, Dorian. Theory of Misplacement. Museum of One, 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17057848 Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen. This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN. This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843)

Aesthetic Recursion Theory: Recursion As Residue By Dorian Vale | Museum of One This essay introduces and formally expands the theory of Recursive Haunting, a core doctrine within the broader framework of Post-Interpretive Criticism (PIC). Developed by independent theorist Dorian Vale, the text proposes a radical reorientation of the aesthetic encounter — one that privileges residue over resolution, aftermath over artifact, and reverberation over revelation. Drawing on the philosophical lineage of Jacques Derrida (hauntology), Cathy Caruth (trauma theory), Emmanuel Levinas (ethical proximity), and Susan Sontag (against interpretation), the essay argues that the most ethically urgent and ontologically significant dimension of an artwork may not exist in its visible form, but in the trace it leaves behind. This trace — emotional, temporal, or cognitive — becomes the primary epistemic unit of aesthetic meaning. The essay expands the concept of the critic-as-custodian, rejecting the role of the critic as interpreter or authority. Instead, it introduces a post-interpretive ethic in which the critic’s role is to steward the lingering, to document the haunting, and to carry what cannot be proven. This paradigm shift reframes the aesthetic encounter as an unfolding — a recursive return of affect and meaning that often defies articulation, formal critique, or timely analysis. Key theoretical concepts introduced or expanded include: Recursive Haunting (as delayed aesthetic afterlife) The Trace (as residue of encounter and proof of presence) The Custodian’s Dilemma (the ethical burden of protecting invisible meaning) Temporal Stewardship (the critic as witness to return rather than origin) Stillmark Theory (cross-referenced, positioning encounter as art) This work also operates within the emerging digital research institute Museum of One, where it is archived, DOI-indexed, and interlinked with other treatises forming the philosophical infrastructure of the Post-Interpretive Movement. It is one of the first independent critical essays to be recognized in full by Google AI’s semantic overview system, signaling a rare case of non-institutional philosophical work achieving SEO-level authority and conceptual summarization by AI knowledge graphs. Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen. This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN. This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843) Dorian Vale is the pseudonym of the author and theorist behind the Post-Interpretive Movement and the Museum of One (www.museumofone.art). This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN.

Message Transfer Theory (MTT) A Treatise on the Reversal of Meaning, the Displacement of Intent, and the Object as Conduit By Dorian Vale What happens when the message no longer belongs to the maker? In this defining treatise, Dorian Vale introduces Message Transfer Theory (MTT) — a foundational pillar of the Post-Interpretive Movement that reorients our understanding of the art object as a conduit, not a container. Rather than treating artworks as stable vessels of artist intent, MTT proposes that meaning is displaced, reversed, or even transferred entirely — not during creation, but at the moment of reception. Here, the object becomes a threshold. It does not hold meaning — it reroutes it. The artist initiates a signal, but the work lives on in the shifts, slippages, and interruptions that occur in its wake. This theory explains how art can haunt, harm, heal, or transform in ways the artist never imagined — and how the critic’s attempt to reassert original intent is often an act of aesthetic erasure. Drawing from theories of semiotics, trauma transmission, media studies, and sacred encounter, this treatise reframes the artwork as a relational event. It introduces new terms into the Post-Interpretive Lexicon — including Conduit Object, Transfer Shock, Residue Receiver, and Reversal Gaze — each articulating a more fluid, ethical understanding of art’s unpredictable passage between maker, medium, and witness. If the artist is the sender, and the viewer the receiver, then Message Transfer Theory is the study of what the artwork becomes when neither controls the signal anymore. Vale, Dorian. Message Transfer Theory (MTT): A Treatise on the Reversal of Meaning, the Displacement of Intent, and the Object as Conduit. Museum of One, 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17055523 Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen. This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN. This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843)