DiMoDA, Morphḗ Presence curated by Helena Acosta and Eileen Isagon Skyers, features a diverse collection of commissioned VR works from Brenna Murphy, Theo Trian, Rosa Menkman and Miyö Van Stenis. Morphḗ Presence opening took place at Superchief Gallery in Brooklyn (NYC) on September 9th, followed by a feature at VIA Pittsburgh (PA), Satellite Fair, Miami Beach (FL) and a featured exhibition at the RISD museum in Rhode Island starting in mid-December.
When we look at contemporary life, it is evident that our perception is often punctuated by technology–so frequently that we no longer distinguish between simulacra and material.
The various devices we interface with giving rise to the images, connections, and feelings that now comprise the phenomenological texture of our reality. These devices and software systems operate in discrete terms; to be precise, they operate in code. Beyond its literal numeric, keystroke value, code language also bears symbolic meaning. This language follows inherent patterns to manifest real shapes, motions, objects, and events–ergo, “reality”. By definition, these tendencies are not actual, but virtual–e.g. not physically existing as such, but made by software to appear to do so. They represent potential. They represent something in essence or effect, but not in fact. Despite the premise that reality may not be fully, or actually, represented by these technologies, virtual reality can influence direct experience, quite literally by influencing physical virtues or capabilities. Indeed, this is part of the origin of the term “virtual”.