My interest in Bonsai stems from the fact that they are living plants that have been manipulated to simulate an idealized version of reality. The forms of the trees are closely controlled according to highly codified compositional systems, thus the living organism comes to personify an ideal, it becomes virtual in a sense. Empire Described will make each Bonsai part of a digitally generated landscape that will reference the oldest form of virtual landscape – the Chinese shan shui landscape painting tradition which emphasized the creation of fictional landscapes. Both parts of the landscapes presented in Empire Described will constitute attempts to realize an ideal, one part in the form of a living organism, the other by algorithmic generation in virtual space. Both will fail to some degree, both in terms of ideal form and the presentation of a seamless illusion. The final 3D images will provide various subtle clues as to their synthetic nature, both in the digital environments and due to the inherent limitations of Bonsai techniques. This marginal failure to achieve an ideal of some kind is a common thread in my work and speaks to a recurring struggle we all share. The hints that these images provide as to their synthetic nature speak to the fact that all ideals are contingent and culturally mediated, at some point we have lost the solace of absolutes.