Cao Fei on the limits of truth and virtuality
The immersiveness of virtual reality has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the obstruction of immersion is VR’s greatest drawback. Its cumbersome headset, dizzying eyepieces, the lag between intent and control, distractive scene transitions, and popup notifications are constant reminders of its distance from “reality.” It hardly reaches the empathy effect provided by cinema. I’m interested in expanding VR’s boundary, to look beyond beauty, shock, and interactivity. I’m interested in virtual reality as agitprop, or whether or not it can disrupt experience as we know it. How will VR change our memories, our dreams?
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that we’ll never get to know the truth, including the historical truth. We can only look for its traces. My recent work considers China’s first computers. Where are the workers today who built them alongside Russian industrial advisers? What technologies and ideologies did those Russian industrial advisers leave behind exactly?
We are sandwiched between the “real” world and cyberspace, and through acceleration and diffusion of attention, we accept such changes rapidly. Before doubts are even formed, our thoughts are interrupted by funny videos sent by friends, or by our ecstasy for the hundreds of “likes” that a selfie earns in ten minutes. More is less. ... By the time we are about to leave this world, we might feel like we have never lived.
See the full story here: https://www.artforum.com/interviews/cao-fei-on-the-limits-of-truth-and-virtuality-82445