Virtual worlds. From cycloramas to Metaverse
Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Lima, PeruCurator: Lucia Garcia De Polavieja and Sharon Lerner
Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Madrid
About the "Virtual worlds. From cycloramas to Metaverse" Exhibition
The drive to transcend the limits of physical reality through immersive experiences is not new. From stereoscopy and cycloramas of the 19th century to augmented reality or Second Life, humans have made use of the latest technological advances to simulate and inhabit technological advances to simulate and inhabit other worlds. The mass popularization of digital simulation thanks to the explosion of computer technology is impacting all aspects of our lives. What is the current relationship between physical reality and virtual reality? Do they complement or exclude each other? From the first attempts to the Metaverse, the exhibition explores this space in which different layers of reality overlap. What can it mean, technology extending our bodies beyond their biological limits? What do we mean by public space, and what kind of civic organization can operate in a society that exists in the digital? These are just some of the many questions that the hybridization of the physical and virtual worlds raises in this exhibition.
10.000 Moving Cities – Same but Different is an interactive work that recreates the buildings of a contemporary city, on whose facades the digital content generated in real time in a geographical point selected by the visitor is projected. Images and videos from social media reveal the digital life of cities that are losing their local identity and becoming more and more similar to each other. Nevertheless, the work not only explores the effects of cultural globalisation, but also puts us in a space that evokes the essence of our time, a hybrid world where two layers are superimposed — the physical materiality of reality and the virtuality of digital environments — while presenting a three-dimensional model for visualising information that invites us to imagine what the immersive internet of the future could actually look like.
Text: Alejandro Sánchez Menéndez
Exhibited Artwork
10.000 Moving Cities - Same but Different, Real Cubes
Interactive Net-Based Installation10.000 Moving Cities – Same but Different focuses on how places are constantly changing and cities are becoming more and more similar. Places are emerging that could be anywhere in the world without a real local identity. This process is accelerated by technological progress, fast means of transport and communication, and the Internet. Visitors can select any city or place, using a digital more …
ZKM, Karlsruhe
MAK Museum of Arts, Vienna
Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Madrid