This presentation discusses some of the thinking that underpins a body of digital artworks produced over the last ten years. This predominantly practice-led research consists of digital paintings derived from photographic-like forms – produced using a 3D scanner – which the viewer encounters in an immersive Virtual Reality experience. The philosophical and conceptual underpinning of the painting practice draws on interpretations of quantum theory and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, with a particular focus on the notion of an impossibly thin digital skin. 

 

Quantum theory and the ideas of Deleuze are first introduced as the theoretical scaffolding for a painting-led practice. The limits of science and philosophy within the context of art practice-led research are outlined, followed by an explanation of how the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory is used as a metaphor for the creative process and as a painting method. The Copenhagen interpretation is then used to think about the surface of a human subject by imagining skin itself as the observer that collapses the wave function. Drawing on Deleuze’s notion of a plane of immanence, this idea is extended to speculate on a supposed hidden reality of skin, cycling through a process of collapsing from the quantum realm into classical reality, as interrogated through the painting practice. Thinness is introduced as a possible solution to some of the problems associated with making the invisible visible; by setting the z dimension to zero the x and y dimensions are liberated to depict classical reality and the notion of an impossibly thin digital skin is established. Extending the notion of skin – defined here as something that is neither inside or outside but a plane between – a skin between classical and quantum reality is imagined and used to fuel the production of a body of artworks. Finally, the visuospatial affordances of Virtual Reality are celebrated as the most appropriate way to embody and present the practice to audiences.