Observations on the Virtual

A conversation between Or Ettlinger and Pablo Garcia about the definition of virtual space on the occasion of Pablo Garcia’s exhibition at Aksioma, “Adventures in Virtuality”. Both Ettlinger and Garcia are academics, the former teaches Virtual Architecture and Media Theory in Ljubljana, the latter Contemporary Practices at the Art Institute of Chicago; they both share an interest in sci-fi, classical arts and both studied Architecture. Is “digital” a synonym for virtual? Are simulations virtual realities? Is the mental space a virtual space? These are the main questions discussed in this conversation and the answers are not so obvious. Virtual spaces are as ancient as the human need for and pleasure in creating images of the world. They can be analogic, as the work of Garcia shows. Virtual is related with reproducibility and is not about the physicality or non-physicality of the object – it is about what we see through the object.