This work investigates intersections between the philosophical concept of Platonic Cave and Jean Baudrillard’s notion of simulacra. The piece approaches the questions of identifying the real through a play of meanings and visual misperceptions. A wall-mounted foam core piece, Plato eludes to a classic stone relief. Unlike classical stone carving, I fabricated this work with a digital router in industrial-grade Styrofoam. I composed this relief out of fragmented 3D scans of my head, placed on the framing blocks.
The six painted panels hang from a wall above eye level, establishing the connections to the classical frieze. Approaching the piece from a distance misleads a viewer to perceive the pieces as stone carvings. However, upon a closer inspection, it becomes obvious that the material is rough Styrofoam covered with a layer of white house paint. The carving lines traced with the router become visible to the naked eye, adding to the fake appearance.
The sculpture initiates the discussion of real and ideal in the context of technological reproduction by integrating into the white wall, becoming part of the gallery architecture.