Daisies

Curated by Alex Zheng October 29, 2023

Daisies (1966, dir. Věra Chytilová) tells the mischievous adventures of two young girls. They are direct, unguarded, honest, self-assured, innocent, and beautiful. Their authenticity is endearing, and beyond being symbols of youth, the film's depiction of the "world" encompasses elements of nature, food, and the rusted allure of industrial creations. Nature resonates most with their vitality; they leap through the woods, recline on grassy fields, using butterfly specimens to adorn themselves, all in harmony with the primal beauty of youth. Food embodies desire, as they unabashedly indulge, using their hands to savor every morsel, showcasing their unwavering loyalty to their cravings. However, the industrial creations always cast a shadow on the emotional landscape of this film; trains bring partings, wires and newspapers signify confinement. The interplay between people and industrialization is always accompanied by pain and struggle.

This exhibition features three games: "In Spring the Winds Passing By Plays the Harmonica for Me," "Hyper Jump," and "Wrong Box." They correspond to nature, desire, and the pain brought about by technological progress. The gameplay embodies the gentle spirit of exploration, akin to the film's main characters. One distinctive feature of this exhibition is that each game is accompanied by unique physical devices, adding a rich dimension of multiplayer interaction on top of the foundation of electronic gaming. Furthermore, the layout of these games is meticulously arranged; standing in front of the harmonica game, one can have a panoramic view of all the games—Hyper Jump is set in front of the stage, Wrong Box is placed on the stage, and the film "Daisies" is projected and plays in the background. They are arranged in layers, as if gracefully approaching the players in a runway show.

in spring the wind passing by plays the harmonica for me

deimos We arranged four identical monitors in a row, with a 4:3 aspect ratio that is very close to a square, creating a fascinating connection to old television sets. Each monitor is equipped with an independent Wiimote for control. Players need to hold the arrow buttons to move the cursor on the screen. As the cursor moves, streaks of light and drifting points appear on the screen, as if a gust of wind is sweeping from the left side to the right. Simultaneously, depending on the cursor's position, the game produces harmonica sounds of different pitches. The sounds from these four games are routed into a mixer, so each player's input has a real-time impact on the composition, ultimately achieving the effect of a sound toy.

HYPER JUMP

Edgar Mendoza This game's controls have been mapped to a DDR pad, and two people play on the same DDR pad. One player holds a control ball to control the protagonist's movement direction on the screen, allowing obstacles to approach. The other player needs to jump simultaneously to make the in-game character jump and avoid the obstacles. Featuring lively and endearing animations and icons, this game is all about pure unadulterated gameplay. Its inclusion in the Daisies exhibition adds an intriguing layer of significance: Why can't it escape this room? The offline experience takes the chaos to the next level by inviting participants to share the real-world limitations of a DDR pad, physically leaping while simultaneously controlling their in-game avatars, bridging the gap between digital and physical spaces.

Wrong Box

Molly Soda & Aquma You happen upon your old desktop computer while packing up your childhood bedroom and get sucked into a digital landscape full of forgotten websites and Internet clutter. The space is familiar but doesn't function quite like it used to. Wrong Box is a reimagined version of what it felt like to surf the web as a teenager and what it feels like to attempt to access those spaces now. How has the experience of going online changed in the past 10-15 years? What gets preserved and what gets forgotten? We presented this game on the stage, equipped with atmosphere-appropriate monitors, mouse, and keyboard. Partial shadows from the film were cast on the players, situated in one corner of the stage, as if they had harmoniously merged into the movie. Whether playing harmonica or Hyper Jump, players could see the participants of Wrong Box and the film projection behind them. However, they were unable to witness what the Wrong Box players were engaged in, making it the most aesthetically captivating game display in the exhibition.