Against realism: The badly rendered potential of VR
One of the great potentials of VR is in the glitch, the error, corrupted data and bad compression. All of which is wonderfully at odds and runs counter to the standard (yawn) cultural narrative of VR as a wondrous new medium of infinite possibilities and lifelike immersion. Isn’t it the job of artists to be disruptive? Particularly when it comes to technology like VR which is often hardwired with a particular cultural narrative, before one even unboxes it. The glitch, together with badly rendered graphics, fake looking 3D spaces and animation explores the disappointment and failures of such technologies, which is certainly more critical, self‑reflexive and playful than to buy wholesale into the current commercial hype surrounding VR.