This exhibition, interweaving Gao's reflections with the seminal thoughts of French philosopher Jean Baudrillard on Simulation and Simulacra, presents a series of works that delve into the artist's personal and generational encounter with the digital realm. Through animated characters reminiscent of 1990s computer games, Gao articulates a complex narrative on identity, reality, and the digital frontier. His works, often not fully rendered and bearing titles like "You see, you are also simulated buddy," echo Baudrillard's assertions on the hyperreal - a world in which simulations do not merely represent reality but come to supplant it.Gao's artistic inquiry aligns with Baudrillard's notion that in the hyperreal, the distinction between the real and the simulation blurs, leading us to question the authenticity of our experiences. Gao's fascination with the digital world's 'humanness' - its blurriness, rendering flaws, and the inherent 'ridiculousness' - serves as a metaphor for the quest to find authenticity in a simulated existence. His work suggests that this digital archaeology, much like the discovery of cave paintings, reveals not just the birth of a new civilization but the inherent human desire to find meaning and reality within simulations.
Gao's philosophical musings, informed by the ideas of Nick Bostrom and the experiments of John B. Calhoun, extend the exhibition's narrative to the broader questions of existence and the nature of humanity. His work prompts us to consider the possibility that our reality is but a simulation, a theme that ties back to Baudrillard's challenges to our perceptions of reality.
You see, you are also simulated buddy 1, 2024 - Gao Hang - Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von: pulpogallery