A petrol leakage floats on the surface of a body of water, dominating two scenes in the World Flag series. The artist John Gerrard (Dublin, Ireland, 1974) collaborated with a team of 3D graphics modelers to create a computer simulation of several views of the world's main rivers (the Amazon river, the Nile, the Yangtze and the Danube). The meticulously detailed recreation of each scene, simulating the flows, the light reflections, and the objects mirrored on the water's surface, can make these artworks look like video footage of the real place. Thinking about the pervasive presence of petrol in the world, Gerrard uses virtual simulations to make reality even more visible.
John Gerrard