Game Art: Peter Burr's "Cave Exits" (2016)

In this multimedia project by Peter Burr, written and Co-Designed by Porpentine, games are used both as an the aesthetic horizon and as a narrative device. As Burr explains,

In video games, there is the concept of a dungeon that generates itself: an endlessly mutating death labyrinth. Cave Exits sets this living structure inside a 4-channel video cube. Recalling the way we interact with online media – clicking, zooming, scrolling – it turns the visual archetype of the labyrinth into a circuit board for lost, anxious feelings. From a simple shift in perspective (moving from within the constricted maze-paths to a vantage high above the spatial coil) the claustrophobic corridors become a dazzling pattern of complex artistry. Viewers are unable to process all incoming information in a single sitting, having to choose between screens if they want to sate their curiosity and learn more about the shifting structure. Unlike choosing between branches in an interactive narrative where the peripheral is an explicit set of controls, here the peripheral will be the human neck and eyes, allowing for expression beyond mere hardware.

This is just a preview of a larger work. The full installation looks like this:

Peter Burr (b. 1980) is an artist from Brooklyn, NY, USA specializing in animation and performance. His work has been presented at venues across the world including Le Centre Pompidou, Paris; Reina Sofia National Museum, Madrid; and MoMA PS1, New York. His recent work explores the concept of an endlessly mutating death labyrinth and is being expanded into a video game through the support of Creative Capital and Sundance. Previously, he worked under the alias Hooliganship and in 2006 founded the video label Cartune Xprez, through which he produced live multimedia exhibitions showcasing artists working in experimental animation.