Matter mixes cutting edge 3D graphics with victorian illusion techniques in order to create a viewer experience that evokes Sigmund Freud’s concept of the ‘Uncanny’. A simulated Rubik’s cube rotates in front of the viewer in a way that makes it look very tangible and real however everything about it contradicts logic. By using a victorian technique that incorporates reflection of light a 2D video image becomes very real and thus creates a strange sensation of something that’s familiar yet quite unfamiliar at the same time.  It’s here that ‘Matter’ aims to challenge the concept of real versus simulated as a tool for investigating our every increasing use of simulated realities in order to mimic real experiences for entertainment. However the content of the cube itself aims to ask a further question. Does the blurring of lines between reality and fantasy risk desensitising us towards the brutal ‘real’ life events taking place around us? The work was developed with one of the UK’s leading digital graphics specialists, Jellyfish Pictures.

Matter (2010) Digital Video Holographic Projection