Text by CLOT Magazine
Nicoletti Contemporary, a London-based contemporary art gallery dedicated to supporting the development of emerging and mid-career artists, is presenting the first solo show of New-York based artist Chris Dorland. The exhibition converges two interrelated projects: Active User, an exhibition of new works taking place in the physical gallery space, and FLR-13, a simulated virtual environment inaugurating a new online exhibition space: Nicoletti Digital.
Dorland’s exhibition aims to reflect upon the ramifications of human consciousness stemming from the dichotomy between physical and virtual environments, real and imaginary dimensions. In a world where the digital seems to be taking more and more terrain into our existence, Active User attempts to conjure up the interstitial spaces where physical and virtual modes of perception and intellection interweave.
Presented as two site-specific video works alongside a series of new paintings and Alumacore panels, Dorland’s paintings are set in relation to the two video simulations, which reference video games and simulated war games; they invite the viewer to shift from passive viewing to active playing.
Moving through these liminal spaces, in FLR-13, a simulated online environment including two video works, is also a space located at the border between physical and virtual realities, objective truth and fantasies, FLR-13 operates as a backdoor to reality and offers a strange glimpse into an alternative version of his exhibition.
Keeping in line with current digital exhibition online trends, such as the Wrong Biennale, FLR-13 inaugurates Nicoletti Digital, an interactive computer-generated gallery space based on Nicoletti Contemporary’s architectural footprint. Designed by Chris Dorland, Nicoletti Digital will allow viewers from anywhere with an internet connection to experience an innovative series of online exhibitions and projects running in parallel to the gallery’s programme.
