Material Casts Shadow

Digital collage, 2020

This series is a part of the cycle «Reused landscapes» I created on the 2020 quarantine and self-isolation. During it, I've lost the access to a real landscape. So I've decided to reuse those I had already worked with, as photographs. In this cycle I virtually interact with the digital memories about the reality I used to know once.

«Material casts shadows» is one of the statements of Material Design guidelines. It is the design language (and a certain philosophy) developed by Google, where «material» is a basic unit, from which the interface is built.

Also «material» is a metaphor of the real world. «Unlike real paper, our digital material can expand and reform intelligently. Material has physical surfaces and edges. Seams and shadows provide meaning about what you can touch.» – Google designers say.

Interfaces created by Google Material Design principles strive to imitate the same experience that users remember from their interaction with the objects in the real physical environment. Elements of the digital world simulate the properties of the real world, so that users won't get stressed and confused from the collision with something that is unfamiliar to them. The same as on the «Call» button on your smartphone there is an image of a phone receiver, and e-mail always goes with an icon of an envelope. But we haven't used phone receivers for a long time already and rarely send letters in paper envelopes. Perhaps, we will remember the light and shadows, air and surface like we remember phone receivers and envelopes, and will feel more safe and calm, as long as the digital world, that have become our new reality, reminds us about them.