In CHEAPSHOT, Jake Couri masterfully blends the digital and the physical, creating a surreal digital landscape in which the main character, the viewer’s alter ego, performs EFT.
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Throughout this week, we’ll be exploring Jake Couri’s work, whose remarkable video A Precarious Night at Plumb Point is currently on display on VRAL.
We’ll begin with CHEAPSHOT (2020), which we briefly mentioned in our interview.
In CHEAPSHOT, Couri employs digital art techniques to present a fluid and ever-shifting world that blurs the distinction between reality and the virtual realm. Utilizing computer graphics through Unreal Engine, the artist conjures a sense of hyperreality, echoing Jean Baudrillard's apt definition. This effect is further amplified by the use of aural cues, as sound designer Aaron Emmanuel's aural dissonance creates a feeling of disquiet and instability. The sudden alternation of gentle sounds with unexpected and jarring noise mirrors the emotional upheavals caused by the barrage of information, constant notifications, and overwhelming stimuli that come with living in a perpetually connected, “always on” digital world.
Matteo Bittanti
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