Federico
Solmi: Escape Into The Metaverse examines the work of Federico Solmi, a leading practitioner in the genre
of new media art. As a narrative and figurative artist, Solmi utilises lurid colours
and satire to portray a dystopian vision of contemporary society, highlighting the
contradictions and fallibilities that characterise our time. Employing video, painting,
drawing, sculpture, sound and digital game design, he creates a carnivalesque virtual
reality with historical and present-day world leaders – animated by computer script
and motion capture performance – in a critique of Western society’s obsession with
power. Inspired by real events and fabricated myths, Solmi explores, re-interprets
and concocts celebrated moments in history. As reconfigured narratives, these social
and political commentaries disrupt the mythologies that underpin Western
