4
Nature
Will it still be the sun to melt the wax of our wings?

A magazine spread featuring a flower-like geometric pattern with overlapping loops. The left page has a black background with a poem and a barcode, while the right page has a white background with the magazine title 'ultra', a heading 'Nature', and the colorful pattern.

  • In this issue, we explore the evolving concept of nature within the context of virtual environments and immersive technologies.

    Traditionally, nature has been viewed as the fabric of reality—the foundational context in which life unfolds. Yet, in virtual worlds, nature often becomes something malleable, a designed environment that we shape and control. While we don’t need trees—or roofs—in these digital spaces, we still recreate them—not out of necessity, but because they evoke emotional responses and bring meaning, rooted in our understanding of the physical world.

    Is nature, then, an intrinsic quality that persists across all mediums, or is it a construct we continuously recreate, driven by our emotional and sensory needs? How does our relationship with nature change when the boundaries between the virtual and the real become indistinguishable?

    Through this lens, we also consider how immersive technologies challenge the traditional dualism between physical and virtual spaces. As we inhabit these blended realities, what does it mean to be “in nature”, and how do we redefine the environments that shape our experiences?

  • NOLI ME TANGERE
    Ana Brzezinska

    REFLECTIONS OF THE SELF
    Celine Daemen + John Volpato

    ECOLOGY OF VIRTUAL WORLDS
    EcoLogicStudio - Claudia Pasquero e Marco Poletto

    REDISCOVERING THE ESSENCE OF NATURE IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE
    Mathieu Pradat + Agnese Pietrobon

    FROM POSSIBILITIES TO ACTUALITIES, THE REALITY OF SPECULATIVE FUTURES
    Kent Bye

    BEYOND NATURE/CULTURE DUALISM WITH VIRTUAL REALITY
    Claire Fitch

    WILL IT STILL BE THE SUN TO MELT THE WAX OF OUR WINGS?
    Derrick de Kerckhove + Valentina Temporin

    IMMATERIAL SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION
    Stex Auer

    NAKED CHARACTER SMOKING A TOBACCO PIPE WHILE LOOKING AT NATURE THROUGH THE WINDOW
    Federico Anselmi

    TRULY, FORE REAL
    Pase Platform - Valeria Zane e Victor Nebbiolo di Castri

  • 
Publication date: September 2025
    Language: English - Italian
    Pages: 40
    Dimensions: 34×48 cm ≈ 13.39 × 18.9 in (A bold new format!)
    Paper: Munken Kristall 100 g/m²
    Printed by: Tipografia Sartore

    Comes with custom silicone bracelet to roll and carry the magazine.

3
Utopia
A blueprint for possible realities

Magazine spread featuring two pages with a minimalist style illustration of a window showing a view of the sky with a sun or moon and clouds, one page in blue and the other in orange. The right page has the title 'Utopia' and the tagline 'A blueprint for possible realities.' The left page contains a poem about living in a foreign country and crossing boundaries.

  • In this issue of Ultra, we venture into Utopia.

    In our narrative, Utopia transcends its traditional meaning to become a provocation to dream. Through new mediums –virtual reality, augmented reality, spatial computing, the metaverse, and more– we invite contributions suggesting how the impossible can give life to the imaginable. The urgency of this invitation is to gather the aspirations of artists, designers, writers, philosophers, and curators to create a vision of collective thought that dares to challenge the present with the promises of a perhaps possible future.

  • SEVEN ADVERBS FOR A UTOPIA
    Stefano Schiavo



    DREAMING BIGGER
    
Avinash Changa

    THE BURDEN OF REALITY

    Charlotte Braüer



    PLUS ULTRA

    Milovan Farronato



    REIMAGINING REALITY THROUGH IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES
    Kiira Benzing + Agnese Pietrobon

    CRAFTING EMOTIONAL ECOSYSTEM
    Eleni Petaloti + John Volpato

    

THE METAVERSE IS NOT A REFUGE FOR UTOPIAS

    Stex Auer



    COVER DESIGN
    Giacomo Bagnara

  • 
Publication date: June 2024
    Language: English - Italian
    Pages: 24
    Dimensions: 29,7×42 cm

2
The Threshold
Enchanted and disenchanted perspectives on a paradigm shift

Magazine cover with blue and orange design, featuring an old piece of furniture, and the title 'Ultra The Threshold' with subtitle 'Enchanted and disenchanted perspectives on a paradigm shift'.

  • In this second issue of Ultra, we dive deep into the intriguing concept of the "threshold": a symbolic boundary, sometimes all too literal, undeniably transformative.

    Innovations in the fields of Immersive Technologies and Spatial Computing increasingly blur the lines between the physical and virtual worlds. This new paradigm presents us with a reality where the tangible and the augmented merge in an almost indistinguishable manner; we are constantly called upon to redefine our perceptions, our identity, and the very essence of reality itself. We anticipate here two reflections, or rather open-ended questions, related to the chosen theme.

    First, the threshold has always been perceived as a moment of transition, a fleeting yet significant experience. This leads us to a pivotal observation: what if the future of human existence is no longer beyond the threshold, but rather within it? Where "the threshold" embodies that element which seamlessly integrates with our senses, becoming an intrinsic part of our perception and extending our cognitive abilities well beyond natural boundaries. Scientific and science fiction literature have, for years, provided glimpses of this reality, presenting it as a distant possibility. It was a futuristic view, on par with the promises of artificial intelligence. Now, we face the swift realization of these prospects. As we approach such a near and tangible future, how do we respond?

    Moreover, at this threshold, if seen as a potential promise for self-extension, should we imagine we naturally possess the keys, or will we need to provide the passcode?

    The authors, hailing from diverse worlds such as art, journalism, design, technology, and philosophy, venture into these topics with care and depth, highlighting not only the wonders and dissonances and tensions that arise during moments of radical change. From emotional geographies to technological mishaps, from the obsessive pursuit of representation to the challenging intersection of reality and virtuality, these writings prompt us to reflect on the intricate dynamics of teetering on the brink of a new world. Enjoy!

  • LEONIDAS' JOURNEY
    Stex Auer

    THRESHOLDS AND GATEWAYS
    Michele Brunello

    THE THRESHOLD AS TECHNOLOGICAL ACCIDENT
    Sara Tirelli

    BEYOND EXTINCTION
    Giacomo Mercuriali

    FOR THE AUDIENCE
    A conversation with Giacomo Bon

  • 
Publication date: October 2023
    Language: English - Italian
    Pages: 16
    Dimensions: 29,7×42 cm

Open magazine titled 'Ultra' with a quote on the left page and a cover with blue and orange vertical bars on the right page.

1
Ultra Code
Visions and tales of joyful experiences within physical and virtual worlds

  • On the Medium
    A Note on the Steps to Come

    Osaka '70* marked our first exploration of an alternative way to define an ecosystem of symbolic elements, intimately perceivable as "real," yet completely independent from the reproduction or emulation of aspects of physical reality. In a note from June 1981, Bill Viola wrote: "My interest in the various image systems of the cultures of the world involves a search for the image that is not an image. This is why I am not interested in "realistic" rendering. Sacred art seems very close because of its symbolic nature. Its intrinsic interwoven meaning on other planes makes it more "conceptual." I am interested not so much in the image whose source lies in the phenomenal world, but rather the image as artifact, or result, or imprint, or even wholl determined by some inner realization. It is the image of that inner state and as such must be considered completely accurate and realistic. This is an approach to images from an entirely opposite direction – from within rather than without. Therefore "eye" images are not important and can be misleading. This line of directions involves discussions of basic human perceptual mechanisms, thought processes, physiology, technological surrogate systems, and psychophysics. Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks of the contemporary artist is not to become swamped by the number of techno-tools capable of precision rendering of the visible world (photo, film, video) and to create with these systems the "pure" images of the symbolic."

    A virtual, three-dimensional, and interactive world that transcends the boundaries of simulation and script can thus be considered not only as a –largely– new expressive medium but also as a concrete opportunity for evolution in the field of human language and, consequently, on the epistemological level. After all, Marcel Duchamp's testamentary legacy, "Étant donnés," has already provided ample material to push us to question the exploration of the nature of perception for generations to come.

    * Osaka'70 is a virtual reality experience we created in 2020. It allows users to explore an extraordinary kinetic architecture that was never built, ranking second in the competition for the pavilion intended to represent Italy at the 1970 International Exposition in Osaka. Maurizio Sacripanti, the creator of the project, used time as a design material, considering it an architectural tool like any other. During this journey, our sense of responsibility - towards the work and its creator, as well as the audience - guided us in imagining new interaction dynamics between the virtual space, users, and the virtual reality medium. From this experience emerged the foundations of the working methods that characterize our activity today. Architectural space is not just a collection of material components, but primarily a concept. To create the Osaka pavilion, we were inspired by this principle and developed a language that could enhance - despite the technical limitations of the unthethered VR devices of the time - the profound meaning of the work, recreating a more dreamlike than realistic experience. We aimed for Osaka '70 to immerse users in the architect's dream of this architecture, rather than the architecture itself, which, in fact, never came into existence.

  • ULTRA CODE

    ON THE MEDIUM
    John Volpato

    BUILDING (VIRTUAL) TIME MACHINES
    Valentina Temporin

    VIRTUAL WOLDS, SPACES, AND COGNITIVE TOPOGRAPHIES
    Paolo Costa

    THE INFINITE IS NOT FOR US HUMANS
    Stex Auer

    THE THEATER THAT THE GORDI AND I LOVE
    Riccardo Pippa

  • 
Publication date: April 2023
    Language: English - Italian
    Pages: 16
    Dimensions: 29,7×42 cm