Inkjet on paper
Bubba gum machine:
41 3/8 x 13 13/16 x 13 13/16" (106 x
35 x 35 cm); old television: 12 3/16 x
19 5/16 x 7 5/16" (31 x 49 x 18.5 cm)
The hazy separation between the real
and simulated worlds is investigated
by the Export to World project, which
focuses on the nature of digital artifacts
in Second Life, a landmark, if imperfect,
virtual world launched in 2003. In Second
Life every player is able to create virtual
objects that have monetary value,
echoing real-world tenets of commodity
and trade. Linda Kostowski and Sascha
Pohflepp created a temporary shop,
similar to those found in Second Life,
in Linz, Austria. People could purchase
paper kits of replicas of the digital
artifacts, which could then be assembled
into three-dimensional objects, completing
their leap into the real world. The
final products are, in the words of the
designers, “paper representations of
digital representations of real objects,
including all the flaws that copying
entails.”
