Jeremiah Chechik, The Uncanny Valley, 2016

In 2016, Jeremiah Chechik, a filmmaker, photographer, and artist with extensive experience in both traditional and digital pho- tography, began a visual exploration of GTA V. Beginning his artistic journey in the 1970s, Chechik drew inspiration from iconic figures such as Irving Penn, Diane Arbus, Jacques Henri Lartigue, and Edward Weston. His self-taught approach allowed him to seamlessly merge technical prowess with aesthetic sensitivity, approaching different mediums ranging from stone lithography to pioneering art holography.

Chechik’s foray into digital art began with early experiments in digital imaging and software like Terragen, eventually leading him to immerse himself in the open-world environments of video games such as Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Battlefield 1, and Marvel’s Spider-Man. The 2013 release of GTA V marked a turning point in his artistic evolution. The game’s hyper-realistic portrayal of Los Santos, provided Chechik with a rich, dynamic canvas to integrate his photographic expertise into a virtual context.

His creative process blending traditional photographic techniques and contemporary digital tools, underscores his engagement with both the technical and aesthetic facets of image-making. He navigates Los Santos with the keen eye of a street photographer, traversing different neighbourhoods looking for interesting moments to capture. By eschewing gameplay and focusing on the 'decisive moments' – a technique honed by Cartier-Bresson – Chechik treats these virtual landscapes as real-world locales, capturing scenes with the same rigour and dedication inherent in classic street photography.

His noir-inspired urban scenes explore themes of isolation, tension, and the interplay between reality and illusion. The black and white aesthetic, combined with careful composition and attention to texture, results in a body of work that resonates with the traditions of classic street and documentary photography.

Chechik’s method involves transforming these in-game captures into high-quality prints on handmade paper, achieving a near-photorealistic aesthetic. The resulting series, The Uncanny Valley, comprises twenty-five images piezo-printed on Hahnemühle Rag with custom carbon inks, evoking the tactile qualities of platinum prints or lithographs.

Through his in-game photography work, Chechik probes the boundaries of perceived reality and illusion, emphasising the role of photographs in evoking false memories and exploring the nuanced interplay between truth and fiction.

More by Jeremiah Chechik: chechik.com