Hyperreal was an exhibition that addressed the duality of modern existence: reality (the physical) and hyperreality (the intangible & digital). Hyperreal illuminated aspects of our lives which are new, complex, and only partially understood, yet often overlooked and easily accepted.

Subtractive letterforms [figure 1] were devised for use throughout the exhibition. Reductive anatomy made for a foreign, glyphic, and codified appearance. Overall legibility was not lost, creating a halting but ultimately accessible reading experience. The original message is both retained and redefined by the new forms, counter forms, and whitespace, in much the same way that hyperreality relates to physical reality.

The idea of constantly engaging with multiple layered realities was expressed through materiality. A series of posters [figure 2] were typeset in two layers: atop the subtractive letterforms were unaltered characters, printed in a clear varnish that was only visible when the viewer's perspective was just so [figure 3].

Simulacra of the Self

A book recounting an exchange of self-reflection between a computer and its user was used to convey the digital profiles we create as simulacra of the self. Being a simulacrum itself — an abstraction of an abstraction — the book made apparent the ways in which digital profiles reduce and reconstruct our identities: what is gained and lost, what is inferred and apparent, and what can be added or removed from an identity at whim.

The book interleaves remarks from technology moguls about their visions for their digital social platforms, further contextualizing the object and its contents, and re-contextualizing the messages themselves.

Visual Exploration