Our quest for knowledge about the world around us determines the way we interact with the sciences and the ongoing technologisation of our actions. Knowledge not only determines our perception of reality itself, but also the desire to control and master that which is actually beyond our influence. With an understanding of the world, however, comes the possibility of prediction. On the one hand, this can generate new knowledge, on the other hand, it can counter the imponderables of a possible future and counteract the expected consequences. One tool that enables this view into the future is simulation.
For his photo series "Architecture of Simulation" the photographer Marcus Heine documented numerous simulations and applications in the fields of science, research and industry. The project explores the question of what role models play in gaining knowledge about reality and what the relationship between model and represented reality is. The visual appearance of the documented environments ranges from the impenetrability of complex technical systems to the illusion of "staged realities". Simulations also enable, for example, the investigation of phenomena of reality that cannot be directly observed or to which we have no access due to size or distance. The HED instrument of European XFEL became part of the project, which will be published as a book at the end of 2021.
www.marcusheine.de/architektur-der-simulation
