The illusion
explores the physical and virtual reality.
The way we see the world is changing. The line between digital and real space is becoming less clear. Since tools like Google Earth appeared in 2005, digital images have become more realistic and more present in our daily life. Today, it can be hard to tell if a video is made by AI or recorded in the real world. This idea is not completely new. In Renaissance art, painters used perspective to create the illusion of space and depth. In a similar way, digital environments create spaces that look real but are constructed. The illusion explores how digital objects can copy or transform real ones, and how this changes the way we understand what is real.
Christopher Manzione
From Only As Beautiful As The Objects It Reflects, Virtual Sculpture, 2016
This form looks like a natural object, yet its reflective, liquid-metal surface makes it feel artificial. It blurs the boundary between something found in nature and something digitally constructed.
Brian Khek
Homer's Venus De Gummy, 2010
The Venus de Milo has become more of a noun and less of a sculpture.
A familiar classical sculpture becomes unreal through its glowing, synthetic color. The transformation questions whether we are seeing a historic artifact or a digitally altered version of it.
Kari Altmann
How to Hide Your Plasma (Handheld Icon Shapeshift for Liquid Chrystal Display), 2011
4D Animation, Virtual Sculpture
The object appears physical, with weight and reflection, yet it floats and morphs in impossible ways. It creates the illusion of reality while behaving like something entirely digital.
The video feels realistic through motion, light, and physics, yet everything may be digitally created. It challenges the viewer to question what they see creating an illusion.