John Gerrard

Biography

Irish-born John Gerrard is a visual artist working in the realm of virtual reality and computer-generated images. Using 3D Real-time computer graphics – a technology originally developed for the military, and now used extensively in the videogame industry, he reconstructs actual landscapes, generally focussing on industrial motifs, such as agricultural or heavy industry, referencing structures of power that have made possible the expansion of human endeavour in the past century.

The results are largescale images characterised by hyperrealism and a certain kind of minimalism that evokes a feeling of forlornness. Thus, he plays with the juxtaposition of human technological advancement and loneliness. This hyperrealism is reminiscent of the work by American 20^th century artist Charles Sheeler.

The production of Gerrard's works is a highly labour-intensive, collaborative affair, which he has described as 'very similar to making films, in that a group of specialists is assembled under a director to make something ... making these works is beyond the capabilities of any one person.’
Working initially from research documents or striking images in the popular press, Gerrard uses the internet as a research tool, in what he calls 'image wandering'. Once a structure is selected for a 'portrait', the artist takes a set of several thousand photographs of surfaces and surroundings. These photographs are used in the studio as textures for a reconstructed, hand-built virtual 3d model of the structure, which in turn is then placed within a 'virtual world' that incorporates the passing of time and other environmental elements.

While they use the same software that is employed for intensively interactive gaming environments, the works offer the viewer no freedom of movement, and generally feature a slow camera path that orbits a silent, isolated scene.