SAFETY IN NEBULOUS 7/10 – 8/3

OPENING THURSDAY, JULY 10TH, 7-9PM

“Safety in Nebulous”, curated by Stephen Lawrence Clark and presented by Babycastles, is a group show featuring the work of Lilith, Liz Ryerson, Julien Thiennot (aka Orteil), and Michael Cook.

Human-made systems, from search engines to home plumbing, surround us in layers and are ingrained in our daily activities. Videogames, as a microcosm of such systems, contain their own sets of familiar systemic elements, like control schemes, goals, or hardware constraints. “Safety in Nebulous,” selected from our curatorial open call and curated by Stephen Lawrence Clark, explores the the wonder, banality, comfort, humor, and terror that can arise, often simultaneously, out of designed systems.

The artists, researchers, and machines whose work is exhibited reflect different ways of appropriating these “familiar systemic elements” as a form of expression; a way to pipe their own thoughts and feelings through these rickety channels, or twist them to suit their needs. Players are invited to explore endless categorization, talk to televisions and skeletons about hamburgers, clamber through a technicolor prison, and even step into a world imagined, itself, by a system.

The opening reception will feature a DJ set by HEAT SCALE (Ari Spool & Rob Chabebe).

 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Michael Cook is a research scientist at Goldsmiths in London, UK where he works as part of the Computational Creativity Group. He’s interested in how computers can design games without any input from humans – not just creating experiences that are fun but also meaningful and culturally important too. He blogs about his research, as well as the work of other researchers in his field, at gamesbyangelina.org. ANGELINA is a piece of software designed by Michael Cook as the main thrust of his PhD studies. ANGELINA has been through many iterations, designing arcade games, news-themed platformers, and more. She’s been commissioned by the New Scientist and Wired, co-designed a Top 500 Android game, and is now having her work exhibited for the very first time at REVERSE.

Julien Thiennot aka Orteil (orteil.dashnet.org) is a 24 year old indie game developer who’s fond of pointless experiments. In 2013, he made Cookie Clicker with a friend of his – which proved to be unexpectedly successful.

Liz Ryerson (ellaguro.blogspot.com) is an independent game designer, composer, writer, and digital artist. Her work aims to re-evaluate the ways we experience and understand digital spaces – and examine the strange, forgotten threads of game history that might lead us into new territory. Her game ‘Problem Attic’ explores the troubled psychological landscapes of its protagonist through willful abstraction and unconventional game design choices.

Lilith (cicadamarionette.com)
She made the Piss Game.
She is currently wanted for ‘Criminal Mischief’ in the Galbadia Region.
Her motives are unclear…
I AM FROM: Dread Home
I WISH FOR: Death Of Masses
I LOVE: Lollipop
I LUST FOR: Emerald
NEW PROJECT: CRYPT ZONE VII: HONKYTONK HELL