Inspired by Magritte's painting and how the eye becomes the center of one's reality, this piece becomes a new iteration of my Mirage video piece. First exhibited at MO_Space, the Mirage is a computer generated simulation of a patch of ocean at the center of a digitally manipulated surrounding. A mirage is an optical phenomenon where light is refracted by different densities of air in the environment. This results in like a body of water suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Mirages are usually seen in flat and broad landscapes like the open seas, deserts, and highways.

 

I changed the mirage's texture to a chrome-like finish, reflecting the space and everything else it is surrounded with. The shift to a new digital reality made me question how we now live in this technology race. Has our reality become a false oasis? Has this oasis become the truth?

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-Miguel Lorenzo Uy

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6 x 10 x 5.3 cm

Single-channel video loop,

artist's frame

2020