Virtual island as exhibition
Nintendo Switch Digital Game, Dimension Varies, 2020
Exhibited in: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
During the pandemic, the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released for the Nintendo Switch. The most intriguing feature of the game is its intensive customization feature where you are given an island to develop as you progress in the game. Animal Crossing has been one of the new social platforms that people use to interact with each other.
In this virtual island bubble machine of a game, certain notions of scale, color, interaction are distorted but most players still play the game as if it is real. I conceived my island as a project that brings forth (rather than hides) the virtuality or the immateriality of this video game world. During this time, the island served as a virtual artwork and exhibition ground at the same time where other Animal Crossing players visited the island to view customized textures and materials scattered around the island. The project serves as an allusion how the world was increasingly becoming more digital during this time.
