TANIGUCHI AKIHIKO

This work is a virtual photographic piece created by placing 3D-modeled plants within Unity, a general-purpose game engine, and capturing them in a flattened perspective using an ultra-telephoto camera. With the recent spread of XR technology and the increase in virtual communication following the COVID-19 pandemic, our perception of reality has become multilayered. For example, in video games and the metaverse, virtual landscapes composed of 3D-rendered plants become part of our memory through our experiences within these spaces. Although these virtual plants are based on real-world flora, they evolve into distinct entities due to the unique requirements of digital environments. Their ability to be infinitely replicated as data, their optimization for minimal computational load, and their low-polygon structures result in forms and textures that resemble real plants yet possess an uncanny, subtly different presence. This work attempts to capture the relationship between these new forms of reality and the existence of virtual plants.