Renata Salecl
The text Oracles and Sublimation: Fantasies of the End of the World by Renata Salecl is included in The Oracle: On Fantasy and Freedom, a publication accompanying the 36th edition of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts to be published by Sternberg Press shortly after the Biennale opening. The essay examines the contemporary resurgence of end-of-the-world fantasies and the cultural, psychological and political role of oracles in navigating collective anxiety. In an era marked by climate catastrophe, pandemics, war and the rise of authoritarianism, apocalyptic narratives proliferate – not only through religious prophecy, but also via conspiracy theories, viral misinformation and collapsological speculation.
Oracles – ancient, modern, fictional or real – act as symbolic figures through which societies externalise uncertainty, projecting dread onto structures that offer an illusion of foresight and control. Drawing on Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis, the essay explores how oracular figures reflect unconscious mechanisms: for Freud, oracles function as deceptive projections of desire and authority; for Jung, they facilitate inner dialogue and individuation. The analysis extends to contemporary cultural phenomena, from evangelical movements to the aesthetics of online conspiracy, where oracular thinking often fuels both nihilism and reactionary politics.
Yet the essay also considers how anxiety can be redirected through sublimation – channelled into creative, scientific and activist practices that resist fatalism. From vaccine development to climate mobilisation, these responses demonstrate the ambivalence of oracular fantasy: they can either immobilise or inspire. Ultimately, the text examines whether oracular narratives serve merely to soothe existential dread, or whether they can provoke meaningful engagement with a world in crisis.
Renata Salecl is a philosopher and sociologist. She is a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana and a professor at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her work explores the intersections of psychoanalysis, law and political theory, and she is the author of several influential books, including The Tyranny of Choice, On Anxiety and A Passion for Ignorance.
