Stephanie Zhang

Artificial Idyll

Artificial Idyll is a 3D animated projection installation that critiques the manipulative nature of advertising through a hyperrealistic, serene forest scene disrupted by intrusive, fake product ads. Created using Blender, Maya, and Substance Painter, the project contrasts fabricated natural beauty with the overwhelming noise of consumerism, exposing tactics like greenwashing, data exploitation, and emotional manipulation. Physical props like discarded bottles and product placements reinforce the contrast between nature and corporate deceit. Hidden messages and contradictory branding reveal the ethical dissonance of conglomerates targeting different demographics, urging viewers to question the true intentions behind everyday advertisements.

“Artificial Idyll is a 3D animated projection piece incorporating installation elements that critiques the manipulative nature of advertising through a hyperrealistic, serene forest scene disrupted by intrusive, fake product ads. The piece invites the audience to consider the pollution created by advertisements while exploring the dystopian and forceful nature of advertising in our everyday life. The piece confronts the honesty of advertisers and resensitizes our minds to the intentions of advertisers. Artificial Idyll refers to the idyllic nature scene as a front for manipulation through greenwashing and ethical inconsistencies. The fabricated nature of 3D animation juxtaposes the realness of nature with the idea of the perfect facade used in most commercials and advertisements. Artificial Idyll explores the nature of invasion of privacy, exploitation of a younger audience, exploitation of insecurity and impulses, and behaviour nudging. The project includes a projection of a serene scene of nature made primarily using Substance Painter, Blender, and Maya. The space introduces advertisements for fake products upon entry, disturbing the experience, the ads block sight and overwhelm the audience with it's visual and auditory noise. Along the forest will be bottles and products, placed as a product placement, in contrast to the nature visuals on screen. Artificial Idyll brings into question the advertisements in our daily lives and the real intentions of companies. This project will include a 3D-rendered loop of a hyperrealistic forest with wind and water, making the forest seem alive and real, advertised as live footage for irony. The advertisements are made in the style of modern advertisements, advertising bottled water, subscriptions, and products that encourage impulsive spending and emotionally manipulate their audience.Artificial Idyll proposes a bigger picture of two conglomerates that contradict their values through their advertisements of their products and the products themselves. The project incorporates hidden remarks which keep the companies from being liable with legal disclaimers and hidden messages within the physical elements of the project itself. The project is a reflection of real companies and their tendency to deceive their consumers and or have separate values for separate products to pander to different demographics. ”