Experimental and Foundation Studies, Spring 2020, Spatial Dynamics
Composition created on Rhino3d using found 3D models
Manifesto:
“Mom, is life here lonely?”
“Do you know what lonely means?”
“Lonely is when I am here but mother is not online”*
In a time like now, what else can we do besides going online? As the whole world is stuck in quarantine, we have moved the entirety of our lives into the digital space - our home, our work, our relationships, our experiences. We have migrated into another dimension.
Humans have long been attempting to fabricate reality in the digital realm in many different ways. From simulation games to artificial intelligence who have minds of their own, our world is increasingly becoming intertwined with the virtual world. As the days slowly melt and merge, the boundary between reality and the virtual is altogether being blurred. It is more and more difficult to tell what is real apart from what is fake.
During this time where we are barred from social gatherings or interactions, we have shown our power and creativity in developing new ways of connecting with people virtually. We have created a space that transcends the physical realm to feed our desire for a human touch. Despite all these efforts, there remains a human-shaped void that technology cannot fill. We immerse ourselves deeper into the virtual world to distract us from the emptiness and convince ourselves what we see and feel are real.
How can we then make sense of what has become our new normal? Is fabricated reality still reality? Or is it merely an illusion of reality? How do we exist in the digital realm, and how do virtual objects exist in our reality?
“I finally understand what a fake mountain is. It is a mountain that cannot be climbed.”
* Live in RMB City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61k679iP2xU