Procession, 2024

Procession, 2024
4K video with sound, USB drive, PLA, flat screen TV, extruded aluminium, screws, bolts, speaker, acrylic
paint, varnish, miscellaneous cables
8 min 53 sec

Investigating the tools used to create video games as a vehicle for speaking about hyper-capitalism and a general feeling of malaise towards the contemporary moment, Procession (2024) is part of a body of work that reflects upon the impending climate crisis and 24/7 hypercapitalism through the lens of prefabricated assets used in video game development.

Within video games, an asset is any resource that is used in the development of a video game, from 3D models to sound effects and pieces of code. An asset flip is a type of shovel-ware (a term for low budget, poor quality video games, released purely for monetary gain) in which a video game developer purchases pre-made assets and uses them to create numerous permutations of generic games to sell at low prices. Although asset flips are condemned by the industry, the use of pre-made assets, however, is becoming increasingly commonplace in video game development.

Procession utilises 3D models of animals bought from the Unity asset store. The work depicts a series of animals walking from one end of the screen to the other in an endless march, towards the future and their own demise, commenting on our 24/7 working lives and the acceleration of global production processes.

Procession has been included in the following exhibitions:

– Asset Flip. At SEAGER, London, UK, 30th May – 1st July 2024.
– Logging Off w/ Rosa-Maria Nuutinen. At The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, UK, 27th February – 6th April 2024.