Mirages & miracles was an augmented reality exhibition by Claire B and Adrien M on view at the Ars Electronica Center from June 2019 to March 2020. The artists have been working in the field of digital art since 2004, and their creations are performances and exhibitions that combine reality and virtuality. The exhibition at the museum in Linz questioned what it means to be inanimate, immobile, and inorganic by focusing on experience rather than technology. In a series of installations, museum visitors* were able to immerse themselves in virtual, three-dimensional worlds in a very poetic way. Augmented drawings, holographic illusions and a virtual reality headset were as much a part of this exhibition as simple pebbles. Using a tablet, the objects came to life and the stones became stages for dancers, while simple drawings emitted sparks like fireworks. With this series of installations, Adrien M & Claire B not only played with the boundaries between animate and inanimate, but also expanded the boundaries of virtual reality and visual art as a medium.
Augmented reality is the extension of the perception of reality through digital, computer-based elements.
More pictures of over 40 years of Ars Electronica can be found in our archive.
In our Throwback series, we take a look back at past events, exhibitions, installations and other exciting happenings from the Ars Electronica universe since 1979.