Game Art: Kim Laughton's "los_santos.obj" (2014)

Kim Laughton's "los_santos.obj" is a brilliant experiment in ludic post-photography. The artist took  a series of photographs of Grand Theft Auto V's megalopolis, Los Santos and removed all the original textures, giving the urban landscapes an appearance of flatness. Considering that virtual reality lacks depth by default - it is, after all, all surface play - Laughton's "los_santos.obj" reveals the true nature of simulation. His project is part of

an ongoing art exhibition that explores the themes of flatness and flanerie in our contemporary digital landscapes. The full series about this eerily ersatz Los Angeles can be seen

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Submitted by Matteo Bittanti (vi