Theo Triantafyllidis
Group Hug
September 26, 2024–November 17, 2024Onassis ONX, WSA, New York
Onassis ONX, in collaboration with Julia Kaganskiy, Serpentine Arts Technologies, and Rhizome, will present “Group Hug”, a first-of-its kind exhibition of large-scale site-specific video game installations by Theo Triantafyllidis, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, and Auriea Harvey. Visitors will be invited to play together and immerse themselves in the sensorial worlds of each game through sight, sound, and touch. The exhibition will be on view on the 4th floor of WSA, 161 Water Street, from September 26, 2024, through October 20, 2024.
Theo Triantafyllidis’ work, “Feral Metaverse” is a multiplayer game in which players are dropped naked and voiceless into a vast, muddy world. Armed with nothing but their wits, players must explore the world, interact, and ultimately prevail over or succumb to its state of nature. Their only path to survival is kindness. This “feralized” metaverse counterbalances the tech industry’s vision of an extensively monitored and highly productive virtual realm. It defies traditional game logics and capitalist conditions, favoring disinhibition and rewarding cooperation between users. Amidst a seemingly hostile environment, players are invited to discover the joy of synchronizing with each other to craft, explore, and unfold embodied narratives.
The installation features a site-specific gaming rig that takes the shape of a medieval catapult, a 12th century weapon that uses gravity to launch projectiles across vast distances. Clambering into each of the eight gaming stations, players become part of the great machine, and must work together to discover the rules of the game and how to play it. Tapestries and crudely constructed wall hangings surround the rig, giving clues to the game’s logic and lore. Screens partially submerged in rubble stream live game-play.
Feral Metaverse in “Group Hug” is curated by Julia Kaganskiy, a Curator and cultural strategist working across art, science and technology. The first prototype of Feral Metaverse was exhibited at Galerie Nagel Draxler in 2023.
