Insta-translated inspiration gurus, visual route planners, invasive adverts, virtual pets sitting on the end of your shopping cart – some of the things that will appear as normal to us in the technology-drenched future of humankind. Well, that is according to Hyper-Reality – a video art piece created by Japanese artist Keiichi Matsuda.
In actual fact, virtual and augmented reality is already here. Although, while the mention of it immediately have us thinking of concepts created in sci-fi books set in the distant future or films depicting technological advancements reserved for aliens, the truth is it has infiltrated our everyday lives with mobile phone apps (Snapchat, anyone?), or youtube videos.
It’s a little bit anti-climactic, but the fact remains that this is only the beginning. So how much farther will hyper reality go?
Advertisements are becoming a huge part of our daily lives. Being bombarded by ads almost every hour of the day makes us more and more desensitised to them. But how much more integrated in our lives can ads get? Will we replace real pets with virtual ones that can follow us around and recommend stuff? Can joining a club or religion be gamified with an award system be created to earn points and level up in the community?
In the short film Hyper Reality, Matsuda show his growing concern of today’s capitalist society and the rapid acceptance of hyper reality. With very little thought being put into the consequences of new media and augmented reality, Matsuda’s film shows a world he envisions that society is choosing to develop into.
His new film presents a hyper-reality where physical and virtual realities have merged creating an overwhelming and exciting reality that renders the real world dull and uninteresting.
HYPER-REALITY from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.