War of the Worlds
Hyperreality is characterized by the inability to consciously distinguish reality from simulation. Because of our current industrialized culture and technical advancements, we find ourselves living in a hyperreal society. We have lost our grasp on Reality – not in the tactile sense, but the true and original state of existence.
I am photographing places where we are removed from the original but perhaps are unaware of it. Sometimes we are so far removed that we mistake the hyperreal for Reality itself. One of the most important shifts in our culture has been the ability to simulate to the point of not being able to distinguish between Real and fake and in some instances, representations have come to supersede that which they are representing.
This project is not only about how we’ve begun to accept the hyperreal as Reality, but also about how we strive to make “real” object and experiences more Real and enjoyable. More and more, our daily lives are constructed to maximize satisfaction and we have reached a point in time where there is more simulation than not. Representations were once at war with their originals, but no longer. Now, we are living in the aftermath of that battle.