Ian Cheng’s work centres on simulations which are often turned into video. In this music video for the band Liars, Cheng has exploited the 3D models virtually fragility- their tendency to clip through each other and distort, exposing the elements of 3D animation that are typically a detriment. The camera is also not fixed but swings wildly around a space with no real indication of size or orientation. Exposing these elements of digital practice sets the video inside the computer itself, not entirely dissimilar to The Man with the Movie Camera’s inclusion of the filming and editing process.
Similarly, the opening to Push Pulk/ Spinning Plates dir. Johnny Hardstaff features a 3D CAD model to generate abstract visuals whilst alluding to the form of machinery. It retains a distinctly digital aesthetic by exposing the wireframe mesh of the model, which, when coloured and edited during post processing becomes almost sculptural, a subject in and of itself.