Player 2: the terror of knowing
the terror of knowing
Curated by Player 2 (Diana Poulsen and Matt Sparling)
Featuring interactive game art by Rokashi Edwards, Soha Kareem and Kaitlin Tremblay
Saturday March 19
7-10pm
355 Clarence Street
The event is free and accessible
LOMAA’s Visiting Artist Program is excited to host the first of three curated exhibitions. Player 2, the curating duo of Diana Poulsen and Matt Sparling, will present an evening of video game art where viewers are encouraged to play and interact. Curators will be in attendance. To follow, on Sunday March 20, Player 2 will lead a game-making workshop, please follow the link below for more information:
https://www.facebook.com/events/381180485338969/
the terror of knowing explores issues in mental health and the therapeutic impulse through an interactive exhibition of narrative-based video-games. Works by artists Soha Kareem, Kaitlin Tremblay and Rokashi Edwards will challenge their players to re-evaluate their own understanding of illness and recovery, and provoke questions about generalization and treatment choices in our healthcare system. Curated by Diana Poulsen and Matt Sparling (of Player 2).
Some works may not be suitable for all audiences, as they features challenging subject matter.
A forthcoming curatorial essay by Player 2 will be available at lomaa.ca.
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Player 2 is the curating duo of Diana Poulsen and Matt Sparling. Their collaborative curatorial practice investigates gaming art and its ability to develop interactive environments. In particular, the vision of Player 2 is to explore games that stray from mainstream culture. Poulsen is an art historian and currently living in London ON where she teaches at Fanshawe College. Diana was a member of Team Vector which runs Vector Game + Art Convergence Festival. She holds a Masters degree in Art history from the University of Western Ontario and a BFA honours in visual arts (studio) from York University. Matt Sparling is an artist and photographer based in Hamilton, Ontario. Matt studied undergraduate art and art history at McMaster University, and subsequently completed his MFA in 2008 at the University of Western Ontario.
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Curator biographies:
Diana Poulsen is a partial load professor of Art History at Fanshawe College, factory worker, robot lover, artist who focuses on new media, videogames and healthcare in form of patient experience.
Matt Sparling is an artist, writer and video-game enthusiast walking five dogs in Hamilton, Ontario.
Artist Biographies:
Rokashi is a game developer, freelance writer, community enthusiast and certified weirdo. He has written for Polygon and the National Post. He loves cookies and hugs.
Soha Kareem is a digital media artist interested in glitch photography and the intersection of identity politics. She currently resides in Los Angeles working on diversity and inclusion efforts in the video game industry.
Kaitlin Tremblay is a writer, editor, and gamemaker, who focuses on using horror to talk about feminism and mental illness. Her writing and games can be found on her website, www.thatmonstergames.com
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LOMAA’s Visiting Artist Program is made possible through generous funding from The Canada Council for the Arts.
www.lomaa.ca