CASE STUDY: CULTURAL INSTITUTIONINSTITUTION: The Serpentine Galleries
TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER: Tezos
Background
In 2022, Serpentine and The Tezos Foundation engaged in a multi-year partnership to bring blockchain into the institutional context. Working closely with the Serpentine Arts & Technologies team, Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, and CEO Bettina Korek, together the two organizations elected to support artist Gabriel Massan and collaborators in the creation of a physical exhibition and multi-level video game that would incorporate blockchain-based interactivity using the Tezos blockchain. The objective was twofold: the Serpentine Galleries team aimed to bring in new and younger audiences to their Hyde Park institution; the Tezos team sought to drive blockchain experimentation and adoption among art audiences.
The Concept
Brazilian artist Gabriel Massan collaborated with interdisciplinary artists Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro and Novíssimo Edgar as well as vocalist and music producer LYZZA to create a seven level video game probing themes of decoloniality, queerness and decentralisation (technological, social, economic, and ideological), challenging players and audiences to rethink the ways in which they understand and orient themselves in the world. Players were invited to record ‘memories’ of their own actions via taking screenshots of their in-game play, and to mint their favorite memory on the Tezos blockchain, building a public archive of multiple perspectives and actions.
The exhibition was presented at Serpentine North from 23 June to 26 November 2023, and offered audiences an opportunity to play the game in a communal setting around site-specific set design, sculptures, sound and films. The video game launched on 23 June 2023 and is playable online via Steam.
The Result
The exhibition was a huge success: Serpentine Galleries broke attendance records and time-in-gallery records, as attendees enjoyed playing the game in situ and challenged themselves to progress deep into the game during their experiences. As a result, the exhibition was extended by over 4 weeks and further opportunities were provided for group visits, events, and lectures on the exhibition.
Whitney’s Participation
As a member of the Tezos team, I was an advisor and supporter of the project. I supported all marketing and communications for the exhibition, advised on the blockchain integration with integration partner Papers, and was a play tester for the video game and memento functionality.
Read More:
Serpentine Galleries, Press Release, 23 June 2023.
The Art Newspaper, “Artist Gabriel Massan uses video game world-building and the blockchain to reimagine the meaning of 'Third World'” by Louis Jebb, 30 November 2022.
STIR World, “STIR speaks with Gabriel Massan on 'Third World: The Bottom Dimension’” by Manu Sharma, 7 July 2023.
Third World: The Bottom Dimension © Serpentine. Photo: Hugo Glendinning.
Third World: The Bottom Dimension © Serpentine. Photo: Hugo Glendinning.