Babak Ahteshamipoiur, Occupy Determined Neural Systems District and Take Action to get Rid of Them, Acrylics and oil pastels on canvas, 2021
GHOSTING IS REAL
Patreon-exclusive content
〰️
Patreon-exclusive content 〰️
Developed in collaboration with Nathan Harper, The Lost Woods is both a medium and a message. A 3D virtual gallery space accessible online, it is an exhibition context and an archive featuring 30+ artifacts exploring the notion of virtual identity and artificial intelligence. The artists describe the experience in video game terms:
You appear in a dark forest shrouded in green fog. Ancient trees tower up into the murky skies. Before you lies a massive tree stump with jagged edges. Next to it on the left is a tunnel. The forest is inhabited by strange beings and floating brightly colored texts.
The works on display in The Lost Woods are both "new" and remediated, to borrow Bolter and Grusin's term. Ahteshamipoiur's paintings such as The Fires that Burn are Never the Ones that were Meant to Burn (2021) and Occupy Sad Neural Systems District and Cry to get Rid of Them (2021) have been digitized and incorporated within this fluid, navigable space, replete with video game tropes, characters and props. In some cases, metaphors are crystalline, if not literal - such is the case of ghosting, thanks to Super Mario 64's various ectoplasms - in other cases, they are more nuanced. Characters from previous works, such as the Grim Reaper from The Sims — and the video currently shown on VRAL — make an appearance as well.
Matteo Bittanti
This is a Patreon exclusive article. To read the full text consider joining our Patreon community.