Glitches in Games in Real Virtual Photography

Apartment two 2011, Robert Overweg, Mafia 2

Visual glitches in games have always existed and probably were first highlighted to non-hardcore gamers crowd when the “Enter The Matrix Game” hit public status and was literally littered with game glitches. But small annoyances and bugs can become an inspiration and part of creative process and Robert Overweg, a Dutch photographer in the virtual world who has exhibited throughout the world, has taken up the challenge to create a series of photos based on glitches in games.

Overweg dwells through the virtual worlds of first and third person shooter games. He looks into the similarities, differences and borders between the virtual and the physical world. Borders which are being tested and stretched by Overweg.

He sees the virtual world as a direct expansion of the “real” world, the virtual places where players come together in multiplayer maps are for Overweg the new public spaces of contemporary society. For him it is logical to document his experiences and research through his photography. While making use of the new possibilities the virtual world give him.