Eva Fajčíková: Bonus Level
You are cordially invited to Eva Fajčíková's exhibition, "Bonus level," opening in Medium gallery!
MEDIUM Galery, Hviezdoslavovo nám. 18, Bratislava
Opening: January 19, 2023, 6 p.m.
Duration: January 20, 2023 - March 5, 2023
Curator
Václav Janoščík
Does Life have a Bonus Level?
Gamification for nongamers
/ Second screen gaming, or hyper-casual games.
/ Corporate takeover of the metaverse imaginary.
/ 63% of casual gamers are gaming just to pass the time.
/ 43% of smartphone use is gaming.
/ 85% mobile gamers do not identify as gamers (Mediakix)
/ Fitness gaming, metaverse gaming, blockchain-based gaming, cloud gaming
/ There are 2.5+ million Twitch users on the platform at any given time.
/ Dating applications that become addictive (see Dream Lovers by Alfie Bown).
/ Proliferation of apps and methods to boost your productivity and skills (from Duolingo or Pomodoro to Clickapp).
Just a few examples from which it is obvious that gaming is not just for gamers.
What is it that games provide us? Do they fit our playful “ludic” nature of ourselves (Johan Huizinga)? Why is it so easy to incorporate their subversive logic into reproduction of the system and power (from gaming the system to disciplination of the gaming)? Why is their open-ended and experimental logic so easily funneled into repetitive forms and stupid content? Why are artist in general (despite numerous exception) and the artworld so disengaged from actual gaming?
...
Paintings of Eva Fajčíková work not only with particular symbolic places (Paradise, Avalon) but also with this imaginary, virtual option of being elsewhere (representing the utmost fascination of figurative painting); more specifically being in a place with clear rules and criteria of success, with gratification and challenges, with firm platforms to walk on and navigate.
But how does all this relate back to our life; where we do not just collect apples and coins; where we cannot defeat monsters and bosses by jumping on their heads; nor can we even identify who these monsters actually are?
(excerpt from the curatorial text of Václav Janoščík)
This project was financially supported by Bratislava Self-Governing Region Council.