tommy needs a haircut
A series of ongoing live works centred on the world of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This work began in March 2024 as a playful revisitation of a nostalgic game from my childhood. I employ the protagonist, Tommy, as the actor on my stage who performs in ways that are often more sensual than originally written in the game. By doing so, I amplify the complexities of human behaviour and social dynamics within the game environment as they reflect real-world ethical dilemmas fuelled with existentialism. Inspired by Lev Manovich’s notions of media remixability, I am interested in remixing not just aesthetics but also techniques, methods, and languages of different media. For the future of this project, I want to get into subtle alterations of the game world itself.
it’s like a jungle sometimes*#
live gaming performance (33:00)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s Tommy Vercetti stars in this work as a man on yet another mission, but this time, it is self-assigned. Experience the gradual awakening of his existence as he blends humour, absurdity, rage, and introspection on his journey of self/other/world-discovery. Who wouldn’t feel a bit lost, a little angry, and profoundly emotional upon realising they are, in fact, a video game character?
23.05.2024 premiere during opening of the Summer Klauzury at AVU Prague
24. to 27.05.2024 installation view
NPC performers: Antonín Zavodny, Omar El Sadek, Tianrui Pan, Yujing Zhang, Enping Yu, Yutong Xie, Hanne Kaunicnik, Rigo, Pavla Bastlova, Faolan McGowan, Heřman Hůrka, Klára Podrabská and Ida Čápová. Photo documentation by Yutong Xie.
wasted*#
live+pre-recorded gaming performance (43:56)
In this live A/V performance, we playfully attempt to relive our childhood memories of being absorbed by the world of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Through our real-time visual and aural interventions, we expose and reflect on our own exhausted and somewhat-nihilistic sense of reality. Our protagonist, Tommy is caught in loops of choices and consequences.
10.03.2024 performance during the first edition of Earday at Punctum
This version while quite rudimentary, ignited our interest and passion for the project and its future possibilities.
screenshots from the visuals >>>
*made in collaboration with lizwiz
lizwiz and I brought our respective practices in audio and visuals into this project. In the project, she worked with mixing audio using a DJ controller and a computer — the audio includes curated music and game sounds performed with the intention of live-soundtracking. While I played the game on MacOS, sending its audio out and mixing visually on a PC with graphics through OBS. We worked closely on writing the monologue and narrative while also self-producing the performative aspects of each version