A selection of images from a new book by multimedia artist duo Andrea Orejarena and Caleb Stein. “American Glitch” explore the slippage between fact and fiction, and how this manifests within the landscape of the United States. Especially in an era defined by screens, an over-abundance of information can often leave us questions what’s real and what isn’t. The idea that we are living in a simulation has become popular. Orejarena and Stein have spent years canvassing the internet and collecting social media posts of “glitches” — signs that our reality is not only what it appears to be. Their findings are presented in the book as “four dimensional reverberations through time and space.” The duo have also created a series of photographs documenting sites around the U.S. that are reminiscent of these gaps between the digital and physical world, one’s perception and the broader human experience. Here’s a statement by Aaron Stern, one of the 36 contributors to the project, on his conception of glitches in contemporary society:

“Are we living in a simulation? Made up of 1s and 0s? I don’t think so. Life has always been unexplainable and strange. It has always felt in those moments like a glitch. To say it is a simulation, to me, is a cop out.

I like to try and work at it. Figure out and process why a difficult or hard to comprehend spot has been laid out in front of me. Maybe find humor and introspection in the glitch. I’ve heard photographers compare taking pictures to asking questions. And that photography can be about problem solving.
I think it’s a way to see the world differently. And hope that others see the glitches you find interesting enough to make a picture of— connect with your perspective and want to talk about it.”

See more from “American Glitch” below or via Gnomic Book. There will also be a solo exhibition of the work at PALO Gallery in New York opening February 9th and Deichtorhallen Museum in Hamburg later this year.