Mountain Environment (mushroom_scarletina_bolete_03), 2024
3D printed PLA plastic, stainless steel screw
20 x 16 x 26 cm
Mountain Environment (mushroom_scarletina_bolete_03) (2024) is part of a series of works exploring how video games are created and the climate crisis, 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. These games, albeit unpopular, are still regularly bought by unsuspecting buyers, and have been accused of flooding video game markets. Although asset flips are condemned by the industry, the use of pre-made assets, however, is becoming increasingly commonplace in video game development.
Mountain Environment (mushroom_scarletina_bolete_03) is one of several floor and wall-based sculptures in this series of works, depicting physical reproductions of video game assets. The assets are simple 3D models with low polygon counts, like animals and plant life, usually appearing in multiple places across different video games. The use of these models, purchased by game developers rather than being made themselves, appears to be a contemporary coping mechanism harnessed to accelerate the production process of virtual experiences. The works use the idea of the prefab as a vehicle for speaking about how the world is in an unstoppable free fall towards a global climate crisis.
The sculptures range from mouldy mushrooms to life-size visualisations of deceased animals, exploring ideas related to the political climate in the UK and our rapidly decaying world. Each of the sculptures in the series is printed with no perimeter, with the different objects shedding their outer, simplistic armour, to explore the inner beauty and intricacies of these seemingly uncomplicated objects and the ways they’re used within video games.
The sculptures were produced using Polylactic Acid (PLA), a thermoplastic polyester made from plant starch. By producing versions or iterations of both animals and plants in this material, the sculptural works are effectively transformed back into the original natural elements that they are visually depicting.
Mountain Environment (mushroom_scarletina_bolete_03) has been included in the following exhibitions:
– Out Of Bounds, curated by Bob Bicknell-Knight. At SEAGER, London, UK, 31st January – 2nd March 2024.
BOB BICKNELL-KNIGHT 