This article examines the history and operational underpinnings of forms of volumetric reconstruction based on the capture of visual data, particularly photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is one of the chief techniques currently employed in the production of virtual replicas for heritage conservation and audiovisual production. The computational realism resulting from this process induces the belief that it is possible to recover the totality of an object from its medial traces. The author analyzes how his work, as well as those of other artists, challenges this technological promise by exploring the formal idiosyncrasies of photogrammetric models.