EVENT: JUAN OBANDO (JUNE 30 - JULY 13 2023, ONLINE)
Pro Revolution Soccer
Custom PC, modified game, two controllers, two custom-made gaming seats, sound system, projector, and vinyl screen structure, 2019 hereby presented as a gameplay video (1920 x 1080), color, sound, 21’ 23”, Colombia, 2019
Created by Juan Obando
Pro Revolution Soccer is an interactive installation that deftly reimagines the popular football simulation Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). Drawing inspiration from the profound bond between the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and the Italian soccer club Inter Milan, this artwork ingeniously introduces the EZLN as an enthralling new feature within the simulation. Evoking the enigmatic essence of a mythical football match, the work unfurls an intriguing narrative where EZLN daringly challenges the Italian team, forever suspended in the realm of imagination. Originally presented as an interactive installation based on a modified version of Konami’s soccer simulation, the artwork is presented on VRAL as a one channel gameplay video.
Juan Obando is an artist from Bogotá, Colombia, specializing in interventions within social systems. Through video performances, post-digital objects, and screen-based installations, Obando explores the collision of ideology and aesthetics, sparking the emergence of speculative new worlds. Obando’s work has garnered international recognition, with exhibitions held in Mexico, France, Colombia, Germany, and the United States. Notable solo shows include “Fake New” at General Expenses (Mexico City, México), “Summer Sets” in Faneuil Hall (Boston, MA, 2022), “DEMO” at Museo Espacio (Aguascalientes, MX, 2022), and “La Bodeguita de La Concordia” at Galería Santa Fé for the Luis Caballero National Art Prize (Bogotá, Colombia, 2021). Selected group exhibitions include First Place In The Table? (Trafo, Szczecin, Poland, 2022), Game Changers (MAAM, Boston, 2020), Video Sur (Palais de Tokyo, France, 2018), La Vuelta (Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France, 2017), and MDE15 (Medellín, Colombia, 2015). Obando was also awarded a Rhizome commission from The New Museum in 2012, a MassArt Foundation grant in 2017, and an Art Matters fellowship in 2019.
EVENT: MATTHIEU CHERUBINI (FEBRUARY 4 - 17 2022, ONLINE)
36,000 feet
Digital video, color, sound, 7’36”, 2021, Switzerland
Created by Matthieu Cherubini
February 4 - 17 2022
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
vral.org
36,000 feet is a video game set aboard a commercial plane flying over Afghanistan. As a passenger returning to his country from a holiday abroad, the player can watch blockbuster movies such as American Sniper on his in-flight entertainment display or chat with other passengers. The topics of their conversations range from terrorism to the “end of France”, whether Obama is Osama and how the West is currently living under a “terrible dictatorship”. 36,000 feet was developed with Unreal Engine 4, MetaHumans and Blender. This single channel video showcases some salient conversations and is meant as a standalone piece.
Matthieu Cherubini is a Swiss designer. After studying software engineering and media art/design, between 2012-2015, Cherubini joined a Doctorate program in the Design Interactions department at the Royal College of Art. His research examines the implications of artificial moral agents on mundane events and everyday lives, both today and in the near future. His projects have been exhibited at several international venues, including the Centre Pompidou (France), ZKM (Germany), the V&A Museum (United Kingdom), the Vitra Design Museum (Germany), the Mori Art Museum (Japan), the House of Electronic Arts (Switzerland), and the Nam June Paik Art Center (South Korea). Cherubini is currently working and living in Beijing, China.
EVENT: THE COOL COUPLE (SEPTEMBER 3 - SEPTEMBER 16 2021, ONLINE)
FLYIN' HIGH
digital video (3840 × 2160), color, sound, 59’ 21”, 2021 (Italy)
Created by The Cool Couple
September 3 - 16 2021
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
vral.org
What is the relationship between aviation and computation, technology and the environment? Experience the inner contradictions of the modern age – in which your favorite technological marvel is an agent of environmental destruction – through a simulated flight in the virtual skies. Hosted on Microsoft’s Azure “cloud” infrastructure, this journey illustrates the true consequences of unbridled technological “progress”.
The Cool Couple – often shortened TCC – is an artist duo based in Milan, Italy, established in 2012 by Niccolò Benetton (1986) and Simone Santilli (1987). Their multidisciplinary practice investigates the friction points generated daily by the interaction between people and images. The Cool Couple combines artistic research with teaching: they are lecturers at NABA in Milan and Course Leaders of the BA in Visual Arts at MADE Program.
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EVENT: ANTOINE CHAPON (DECEMBER 11 - DECEMBER 24 2020)
MY OWN LANDSCAPES
Digital video (1920 x 1080), color, sound, 18', 2020 (France)
Created by Antoine Chapon, 2020
VRAL
December 11 - December 24 2020
Introduced by Luca Miranda