Anna Madeleine Raupach

Second Nature / Wasteland consists of augmented and virtual reality counterparts that imagine a world where natural objects emit digital signals. Cut pine trees emanate potential Wi-Fi networks, glitchy Bluetooth connections hover over the leaves of potted plants, autumn leaves search for lost mobile data, and we become tethered to rocks like we do a personal hotspot. Experienced through a mobile phone application, these augmented objects suggest that our reliance on digital technologies is becoming as ingrained as our connection to the natural world – an idea both unsettling and meditative. The accompanying VR scene, Wasteland, presents this scenario as a virtual world. By directly referencing the augmented objects, it blurs the line between what is real and what is a simulation. In both components, two-dimensional hand-drawn animations are encountered in three-dimensional space to further complicate the relationship between virtual and lived experience alongside an assimilation of nature and technology.

These works were exhibited inEmotions Invented by the Internet by Anna Madeleine and Jessica Herrington, a collaborative exhibition of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) artworks exploring emotional states instigated by new technologies. The feeling of helplessly watching a slow download; the feeling of trying to make two devices find each other through Bluetooth; or the feeling of finding that perfect GIF – these emotions range from the tranquil to exhilarating, funny to frustrating. Through 360 degree animations and dream-like digital relics, the exhibition presented a simulation and a remedy for future mental states, in a meditative response to living with new technology.