From the press room:
2009: August 14 - 31,
Patrick Millard Virtual Lens,
Quadrapop Tree Gallery,
Patrick Millard Virtual Lens,
Quadrapop Tree Gallery,
Reception: Saturday, August 22, 4-6pm SLT
Quadrapop Tree Gallery will be exhibiting Patrick Millard’s [SL: Formatting Heliosense] new Second Life photographic series Virtual Lens from August 14 – August 31, 2009. This exhibition will be the premier showing in Second Life of this series since it has been shot. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, August 22, 4-6pm SLT.
In 2008, Patrick began to show his work inside the virtual simulation world Second Life; exhibitions that advance beyond two-dimension work and expand his ideas of simulation, virtual reality, and the synthetic future where the physical object gives way to its virtual counterpart and its presence is valued entirely for its idea rather than its place in space.
Patrick’s work continues to investigate transhuman and futuristic themes such as cyborg ontology, nanotechnology, robotics, virtual reality, the singularity of man and machine, cryonics and ending aging among other topics that are shaping the way we experience the world we live in.
Virtual Lens has been described by Patrick in his artist statement as follows:
Virtual Environments have become increasingly popular as we have moved forward into the 21st Century, and with this trend we are witnessing an expansion of our reality and the notion of objecthood. The developing world of virtuality has resulted in a market of goods that are bought and sold but no longer tangible to the buyer or seller. The outcome is a greater respect and enthusiasm for information as product itself. Goods are continually becoming cherished more for their ability to carry concept and idea rather than their physical place in space.
In Virtual Lens this world of virtuality [Second Life] is seen for its visual and informational offerings. The world possesses artistic, educational, social, retail, residential, commerce, etc. in a diverse number of configurations that are both recognizable from the world we have known in our ‘real life’ structure and as new developments that have been created by the users of the virtual environment.
Photographically these image captures represent a new development in the digital era. Much like viewing a web cam of a location from the world that extends well beyond our place in that world, the captures taken in Second Life are a collection of representations taken from a new and developing reality that some have predicted will be the mainstay of our time in the 21st Century.
It is without doubt that virtual environments will play a major role in our understanding of the world. They will both remind us of the memory from a time before such experiences and offer a reformation of the way we make sense of our surroundings and ourselves.
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