Artist Theo Triantafyllidis presents a critical examination of his latest work "Feral Metaverse," investigating the intersections of contemporary art practice and multiplayer game environments. This post-mortem discussion reveals how traditional artistic concerns can be transformed through experimental game mechanics, creating new possibilities for collective experience and social engagement in virtual spaces.

Drawing from his extensive practice bridging installation art and game development, Triantafyllidis will unpack the conceptual and technical frameworks that shape his approach to participatory digital environments. The session examines how emerging technologies can transcend conventional gaming paradigms to create meaningful artistic encounters.

In this workshop, you'll discover:

• Conceptual approaches to translating artistic practice into interactive mechanics
• Critical frameworks for designing non-traditional social interactions
• Methodologies for world-building that challenge traditional gaming vernacular
• Strategies for developing experimental movement and collective embodiment
• Contemporary approaches to public engagement in virtual spaces

The program consists of a 30-minute artist interview with Gameplayarts director Jamin Warren followed by participatory exercises where attendees will examine the relationship between individual artistic expression and collective experience. Through guided collaborative drawing sessions, participants will investigate new possibilities for social interaction within virtual environments.

Logistics

Date: November 26, 2024

Time: 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM CET 

Length: 1 Hour

Format: Live online session via Zoom 

Level: Open to artists, curators, creative practitioners, and individuals interested in experimental game design. No technical experience required.

Additional Info: No refunds or exchanges. Please review our Code of Conduct. Email info@gameplayarts.org for questions.

Your Instructor

Theo Triantafyllidis is an artist who works with digital and physical media to explore the experience of space and the mechanics of embodiment in hybrid realities. Utilizing algorithms and game engines, virtual reality headsets and experimental performance processes, he creates interactions within immersive environments. In Triantafyllidis’s worlds awkward interactions and precarious physics mingle with uncanny, absurd and poetic situations, inviting the viewer to engage with new realities.

Through the lens of monster theory, he investigates themes of isolation, sexuality and violence in their visceral extremities. He offers computational humor and AI improvisation as a response to the tech industry’s agenda. He tries to give back to the online and gaming communities that he considers both the inspiration and context for his work by remaining an active participant and contributor.

Theo holds an MFA from UCLA, Design Media Arts and a Diploma of Architecture from the National Technical University of Athens. He has shown work in museums, including Centre Pompidou in Metz, Buk-SEMA in Seoul, House of electronic Arts in Basel and NRW Forum in Dusseldorf and galleries such as Meredith Rosen Gallery, The Breeder, Nagel Draxler and Eduardo Secci. He was part of the 2021 Athens Biennale: Eclipse, Berliner Festspiele 2021, Sundance New Frontier 2020 and Hyper Pavilion in the 2017 Venice Biennale.