About the game that isn't played
The video below discusses the principles of a game designed to go in "your elsewhere."
video 2'30 (2024)
The Game That Isn't Played unfolds on the playground below, a space that extends outward along nine axes, embodying the desire to journey beyond. At the center of the playground, beneath the black circle, lies a map leading elsewhere, accompanied by a hypnotic script to help initiate the game.
Numbered boxes punctuate the playground, each hiding possibilities revealed by rolling two nine-sided dice. The roll sets a trajectory, which player(s) can interpret freely, guiding their decision on how to move toward the unknown. These possibilities manifest as questions and performative actions, encouraging player(s) to step outside their routines and seek answers beyond the usual confines.
To play or not to play, to choose one’s trajectory or let it unfold, to go straight or take side roads—such questions of play become reflections on life in the Game That Isn't Played.
The nine axes of the field represent essential aspects of a journey toward the "elsewhere": desire, landmarks, uncertainty, meaning, the unknown, intuition, exploration, iteration, and discovery. As space stretches toward these new horizons, the axes guide the player's movement and gaze: the farther one ventures, the more they see beyond. Nine stations mark this shift in perception, forming a journey of ordinary heroes.
The playground of the Game That Isn't Played can also be seen as a metaphorical representation of the brain, inspired by various neuromyths. I call it "My Lacan Node."
My Lacan Node (2024)
digital drawing - variable dimensions
HOW to play (2 steps)
Step 1 - Roll two nine-sided dice to design a draw
Rolling two dice (2024)
video 23''
Each draw is triggered by clicking the dice space below. The result combines two dice: one provides a number (from 0 to 9), while the other determines the nature of the movement—survey, wander, roam, stroll, walk, return, follow, trace, or travel. Then, interpret the movement based on your own reading of the draw.
Special thanks to mathematician Eliott Morgensztern for assisting in the programming of this feature.
HERE is your dice, click below to design a draw
by obtaining a number and a movement
click on the playground above to design a draw
STep 2 - Move accross the playground according to your draw
Transfer the result of your dice roll from step 1 to the playground and click on the corresponding box. Below, you'll find a question and a performative action that may illuminate your journey toward the hidden "elsewhere" at the center of the field. Simply follow the prompt... and roll the dice again (step 1). The game concludes when you reach box 40: Eureka!
Click on the number of the playground resulting from your draw
or alternatively click on < or > of the toolbar to move through the file.
Note
Mindscape Playground (2024)
The playground of the Game That Isn't Played creates a system of knowledge on the borders of esotericism, expanding our vision as we venture beyond the familiar. Alongside this online game, an object based on the same principles shapes the space: it is the Mindscape Playground model, which connects our physical and mental movements toward a hypothetical "elsewhere." This model is activated through a displacement maieutic in collaboration with the public.
When activated, the playground becomes an intermediary space allowing the public—individually or in groups—to reveal a desired horizon. Elements such as paws, dice, rolls, figurines, and shapes guide the process, driven by my questions that open up an exploratory language I facilitate.
With their disorienting rules, hypnotic questions and detour protocols, these playgrounds aim to divert the logical and Cartesian mind, encouraging a rediscovery of the poetry of desire beyond habits, processes, and conditioned thoughts.
The Game That Isn't Played and the Mindscape Playground also implicitly take up the forms of the Transitional Logography I created from the maieutic sessions.
Cartography Project for an Elsewhere (2024)
paper cutouts, black felts and digital photography, approx. 20x15cm, video 55'''