Sunset Bar
Videoinstallation
25:41 min
Skulpturer:
Barbord 1 & Barbord 2
~100 cm x ⌀ 70 cm
Sunset Bar explores the virtual bar with the same name. It is one of many user-created worlds on the social virtual platform VRChat. The platform resembles a video game, but its purpose is to meet and socialize without being physically present.
In his practice, Simon Johannesson employs documentary photographic principles. In this project, he embraces this tradition with the aim of treating the virtual space as any other place. A key inspiration is Anders Petersen’s intimate portraits from the Hamburg bar Café Lehmitz (1978).
The video work is presented through the “Pepper’s ghost” illusion, which has its roots in 19th-century theatre, creating an immersive and intimate experience for the viewer. The film consists of documentation of the space and interviews with its visitors.
What’s the difference between a virtual bar and a physical one?
How do we behave in the virtual space compared to the world we already know?