City of Simulacra
Jean Baudrillard argued that modern society has “replaced all reality and meaning with images, symbols, and signs,” leaving human experience as a simulation of reality. While his book Simulacra and Simulation was published in the 1980s, its relevance to our contemporary world has only deepened.
A trip back to Korea, with its vibrant neon streets and eye-catching displays in Seoul, underscored this idea. The cityscape seemed to embody a reality built on facades—where, as Baudrillard suggested, reality is no longer visible, only its simulacra remain.
Rather than lament the loss of reality, this project sought to reframe the idea of a world overtaken by images. Through art-making, it explored how to reinterpret and navigate this simulacra-driven existence, finding meaning in the layers of constructed reality.
Process
Reality is formed in continuity as a movement between memory and creation
Composer Jean-Baptiste Barrière views simulation as a vital artistic tool, offering a dynamic and ever-evolving reservoir of knowledge. Through computer formalization, artists can reshape and enrich their work, unlocking new creative possibilities.
This philosophy guided the creation of Outdoor Blu. By layering and manipulating images, we crafted a narrative that blended sourced footage from online archives with 3D visualizations. Using video editing tools like Premiere Pro and After Effects, the process revealed filmmaking’s dynamic essence—where the interplay of elements creates a whole far greater than the sum of its parts.
Featured
The goal of Outdoor Blu was to create a speculative reality where images act as thin, outward-facing walls—visually loud yet hollow within. This concept was explored through a four-part narrative:
1. Intro: A fish narrator describes swimming through images daily, presenting the world as a collection of digital surfaces.
2. Frustration: The painfully vibrant lights of a city reveal the hollow nature of images—grand facades that wail with emptiness.
3. A Wish: The protagonist yearns to erase the threshold dividing the inside and outside of image layers.
4. Swimming: The protagonist envisions liquefied image layers, longing to dive into them and dissolve the barriers.
To enhance the emotional depth of the narrative, music was composed in Ableton, following the same logic as the video editing—assembling fragments of online sound to form a cohesive piece. Once the music was complete, the video’s flow was adjusted to harmonize with it.
The speculative reality extended into an installation, inviting viewers into the narrative’s spatial and temporal dimensions. A swimming pool texture was printed on large PVC material and placed on the floor, immersing the audience in a new environment. A lifeguard’s chair was added to provide an elevated vantage point, requiring viewers to climb up and put on headphones to experience the video in its full intensity. This immersive setup bridged visual, auditory, and physical engagement, delivering Outdoor Blu’s speculative reality in a multidimensional format.
2021
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