Who painted Virtual Implants?

Virtual Implants was painted by Unknown in 1990.

Where can I see Virtual Implants?

Virtual Implants is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

Virtual Implants by Unknown (1990) — Meaning & Museum

About this work

Overview

Virtual Implants is an autostereogram produced by the Chicago‑based collective (art)n laboratory under its PHSCologram trademark. The work presents a depth‑rich image that resolves into a three‑dimensional form when viewed with appropriate lighting, inviting the viewer to perceive sculptural space within a flat surface.

Subject & Meaning

The piece juxtaposes abstract, biomorphic shapes that suggest implanted forms within a virtual body, exploring themes of technology’s integration with human anatomy. By requiring the observer’s movement to reveal hidden depth, the work comments on perception and the layered nature of contemporary identity.

Technique & Style

Originally, PHSColograms were created by photographing large sculptural installations from multiple horizontal positions, then compositing the exposures onto transparent color film and pairing them with a black‑and‑white line screen on plexiglass. By the 1990s the process shifted to digital: three‑dimensional models were rendered in computer graphics software, painted, lit, and then converted into the autostereoscopic format using simulated barrier‑strip techniques.

History & Provenance

The transition to digital production occurred around 1990, aligning the practice with emerging computer‑graphics workflows.

The collective (art)n laboratory, formed in 1983 by Sandor and fellow SAIC students, pioneered the early analog method that combined sculpture, photography, and darkroom compositing. The transition to digital production occurred around 1990, aligning the practice with emerging computer‑graphics workflows. Virtual Implants reflects this evolution from analog to digital within the PHSCologram series.

Context

PHSColograms draw inspiration from the process‑oriented experiments of Man Ray, Duchamp, and Moholy‑Nagyi, extending their investigations of illusion and perception into the realm of contemporary digital media. The work situates itself at the intersection of photographic technology, sculptural practice, and interactive visual experience.