Portal Park
The line between physical reality and the digital realm is becoming increasingly blurred. Thanks to lightning-fast developments in technology, we are at the dawn of a new world – as virtual and tangible, on– and offline in one: the Metaverse transforms the Internet from 2D to 3D, ChatGPT puts words in our mouths, and through Virtual and Augmented Reality, digital technology and sensory perception come together in a real-time immersive experience. Upgrading your appearance through a filter and wandering as an avatar through unknown digital terrain? It’s all within reach! The future of the Internet is now and its possibilities are endless.
And it is precisely here, on the vague border between real and simulated, that there is plenty of room for experimentation and self-expression. The Internet is an inexhaustible source for connection and content, the results of which flow seamlessly into physical reality: computer-simulated influencers are barely distinguishable from real-life humans and TikTok references permeate everyday language. One reality is an imitation of the other. Some users feel like a kid in a candy store; For others, this new world is intimidating and the rules of the game are unfamiliar. How do you move forward in a world where it is no longer clear what is real and what is not? And more importantly, what if that difference no longer matters?
Enter Portal Park: a new world in the heart of Rotterdam– a play paradise, a staged reality, a place of illusion, disillusion and possibility…because behind an exit hides an entrance, behind open doors– an empty field. Welcome to Portal Park. Welcome to this new reality.
Program maker: Maria Mombers
Artists: Lena Kuzmich, Emily Mulenga, Vincent Snijders en Zuza Banasińska
Maria Mombers (1998) is a visual artist, designer and teacher with a fascination for
pop- and internet-culture. With an interest in the social aspects of the online domain, she searches digital environments for content that she thinks would feel at home in a contemporary art museum. She finds this as funny as it is alienating and at times bizarre. How do we deal with the possibilities of new technology? Within what virtual environments do we meet and why do we find those precise places interesting? Not the technology itself, but our relationship to these new developments, are central to her work.
