Cake Industries
Simulacrum

Cake Industries’ Simulacrum reinstates the sense of occasion and significance of age-old processes of portraiture that have become disposable in the digital world. The artists invited 15 members of their community in Melbourne to have their portrait taken using 3D scanning and printing technology, a process that involves careful and time-consuming preparations by both the subjects and artists to ensure a successful outcome.

In homage to the forgotten subjects of 19th century daguerreotype photographs, the artists have chosen not to identify their subjects by name but by archetypes, including: The Neighbour, The Mechanic, The Performer, The Illustrator, The Explorer, The Artist, The Melbournian, The Cultural Ambassador, The Student, The Salesman, The Costumier, The Designer, The Master Craftsman, The Music Agent and The Activist.

Cake Industries are inspired by the stories of travelling daguerreotypists whose visits to communities across Australia were celebrated as significant events in the life of the community. As Experimenta Recharge tours nationally the portrait process is repeated. In each new community visited by the exhibition 15 new subjects will be selected to represent the host community resulting, by the tour’s end, in a unique portrait of communities across Australia.

Presented as part of: Experimenta Recharge: 6th International Biennial of Media Art, which toured Australia in 2014–2016.