PLAYA
GAMEPLAYARTS
CURATED BY BRYAN MUNGUIA
JULY 18 — AUGUST 3 2024
(Los Angeles) Gameplayarts is pleased to present Playa, a survey of Mexico-based artists informed by post-Internet worldbuilding.
This summer, Los Angeles and its seasonal tourists are invited to immerse themselves in an exotic, simulated paradise. Playa unfolds as an ironic theater of Western desires, mirroring commercial worldbuilding logic to transform the gallery space into a faux Mexican beach resort. This setting authentically reflects a yearning for foreign utopias, weaving nostalgia and romantic idealism into an interactive dreamscape.
The works of Mexican multidisciplinary artists Alonso Cedillo (Mexico City), Murakit (Mexico City), Caro Lucero (Mexico City), Fernando Gress Muñoz (Mexico City), Alicia Valladeres (Mexico City), Juanna Pedro (Xochimilco), and Clutch (Guadalajara) reinterpret popular visual culture through various appropriations. Each artist offers their unique critique of Western imagination through post-Internet practices, creating a multidimensional showcase encompassing video games, digital art, drawings, and Internet-based curatorial projects like Patadas de Ahogadx from Centro Cultural Kappa (Guadalajara) and Neotortillería (Guanajuato).
Typically a “luxury” attraction, the resort blurs the line between high and low culture, resulting in a critical awareness of kitsch that emerges from placing objects of common culture in formal contexts. The invited artists draw on digital aesthetics of the 1990s when U.S.-transferred pop culture hit a cultural apex in Mexico. Caricatures of the appropriative West, stemming from video games and Japanese manga, resonate deeply within the Mexican collective subconscious raised in Web 1.0. This dynamic blend of nostalgic idealism and transnational internet aesthetics subverts the gallery space, positioning the Mexican landscape in direct confrontation with Western sensibilities.
Playa will be on view at Gameplayarts, 5511 W Pico Blvd, from July 18 to August 3, 2024. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, July 18, from 6 to 10 p.m., featuring a musical performance from participating artist Murakit at 9 PM. The exhibition welcomes walk-in visitors on Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 to 5 p.m.
For more information and updates on the exhibition, please visit https://gameplayarts.org/.
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EXHIBITOR LIST
Neo_Tortellería
Patadas de Ahogadx:
Arturo Olmos
ABOUT GAMEPLAYARTS
Gameplayarts (formerly Killscreen) is dedicated to advancing game-based arts and culture by cultivating a diverse, adaptive, and collaborative community of multidisciplinary creators. We empower digital creatives, technologists, architects, graphic designers, directors, animators, and creative coders to explore the untapped potential of games and game-thinking within art and design.
Through educational programs, innovative exhibitions, and community-driven initiatives, we inspire and support the next generation of game-based artists. Our organization is a hub for interdisciplinary experimentation, fostering connections between local universities, cultural institutions, and global pathfinders.
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