A sense of space: Virtual reality, authenticity and the aural

Abstract

This paper re‐examines the history of the apprehension, consumption and production of reality by means of the aural in light of developments in virtual reality technology. It argues that virtual reality has long been a domain of audio technology and that by acknowledging and examining its roots in aural media its connections to the discourse of authenticity are made clear. It proposes that critical analysis of virtual reality must make explicit its undeclared nature as a mediated and symbolic creation.