Two VR artworks at this year’s Dark Mofo ask the viewer to endure confronting simulations. Are we complicit if they give us a thrill?
It’s morning, and the first thing that comes up in my Instagram feed is a picture of seven smashed and bloody faces. The photo is a gleeful post from Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The caption reads: “Tony Ferguson’s last seven opponents.”
My Instagram feed is full of pictures of violence, interspersed with advertisements for butt-enhancing leggings. They are “inspo” pictures, because I’m interested in martial arts. To me, a pulpy face is a sign of peak fitness. That’s the personal context I bring to it.
It’s a 2D taster of what I’m later going to see in virtual reality form: Jordan Wolfson’s Real Violence, one of two violent VR installations at Tasmania’s midwinter arts festival, Dark Mofo. This is a two-minute street scene in which the artist himself is rendered virtual and repeatedly stomps on and takes a baseball bat to the head of a defenceless man. People sat in passing cars don’t even turn their heads to look. Only you, in your headset, and you’re not stepping in to help either.
Related: Jordan Wolfson: 'This is real abuse – not a simulation'
Related: Inflatable penises, latex pigs and a Justin Bieber shrine: Dark Mofo's wildest rides
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