Photographer in the virtual world

Robert Overweg is a photographer of virtual world environments. These environments most often appear in first and third person shooter games but Overweg see’s them operating as a direct extension of his physical world, revealing the new public space of contemporary society.

Overweg proceeds to the outskirts of the virtual world which he dissects through his photography. In doing so, he draws our attention to environments that are often overlooked and yet ironically appear eerily familiar.

The images not only document the limitations of these virtual worlds, they are often capable of triggering memories and associations from real world life experience. We are consequently transported via the virtual back to the real where a visual semiotic interplay allows us to abandon the context of the game almost entirely.

He exhibits throughout the world ranging from Amsterdam, Cologne and L.A. The press gave his work a fair share of attention from the dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, BBC to Gizmodo and Kotaku.