[ISEA2000] Artist Statement: OLGA KISSELEVA – Virtual Worlds (in real life)

Artist Statement

Digital photographies and screen projections at ARTPROCESS

How to be elsewhere while staying here, to stay here while going elsewhere and so on.

Virtual Worlds are not virtual reality environments, nor are they elaborate special or digital effects. But nonetheless they are virtuality!

At ArtProcess, the height of postmodernism, Olga Kisseleva is presenting, ‘in real life’, ‘real’ virtual worlds that have not undergone any computer pro¬cessing. It is an installation of photographs and text that lets us see a series of pictures whose subjects are the large cities of the world. But New York, for example, is not necessarily represented by New York; the very beautiful view of Istanbul may not have been taken in that city; and is that typical scene of Beijing really of Beijing? It is up to you to make out the real city from the virtual city, but be aware there is no indication given for identifying the true from the false. But is it really important?

This exhibition is the first event of a series of projects that will take various forms depending on the places they are received — exhibitions, performances, tours, publications and so on. The projects may indiscriminately call upon means of traditional techniques or advanced technology. ‘Virtual reality’ will be the central theme of each of these productions.

  • OLGA KISSELEVA, Russia