In search of lost time

The In Search of Lost Time group exhibition is on at London’s Brunei Gallery, SOAS, opening January 21 and running to March 19.

Curated by Amal Khalaf and Abed Al Kadiri, the exhibition presents the work of 13 artists responding to the effects of the last 60 years of rapid change in the Gulf. As the speed of growth in the economic, physical and socio-political environments of the region has accelerated, so too have the “rifts and tensions between an existing desert culture and rising global capitals” –tradition and technology –grown.

The exhibition is further described by the press release as a portrait of “the complex relationship between image, speed and time in the Gulf, questioning the chronological and territorial notion of the region and the paradigms of its underlying identity”.

Of the presented, Sophia Al Maria, Monira Al Qadiri, Ajlan Gharem, Raja’a Khalid, Ahmed Mater, Mohammad Sharaf, and Lantian Xie are among them.

See the Brunei Gallery website for details.**

Monira Al Qadiri, 'Alien Technology' (2014). Courtesy the artist. — Monira Al Qadiri, ‘Alien Technology’ (2014). Courtesy the artist.

Header image: ‘Fortune Golf’ (2014), Archival Inkjet Print.

Documentaries about gaming culture? Mmmmm…. Level up, Get Lamp, Chasing Ghosts… or the latest Indie Game: The Movie, those are just a few examples and yet… we get new initiatives pretty much every month. “In search of lost time” is our latest discovery… and maybe a documentary many arcade purists will appreciate.

“Beginning with Space Invaders in 1978, arcade games began to appear everywhere. In 1982, 13,000 dedicated arcade locations existed across North America, generating $3.2 billion dollars in 1983 alone, the hard way: one quarter at a time. By 1985, revenue had fallen 97%. Atari declared bankruptcy. Arcades began to disappear. Most of the old games were converted or destroyed. A few, packed into warehouses, largely forgotten for another decade.

Yup, that’s the true and sad story about one medium and a distribution model that came to an end, today is all about your “live” stores and digital copies paid with digital tokens, and yet those who came from the analog generation still want to defend them. Seems like “The Space Invaders: In Search of Lost Time” more than another story of “classic obsession” is a real statement with a big nostalgic compound, but who can blame them…

The movie should be released next year, although there are some lucky people who are already enjoying it these days as it screens around San Francisco.

In Search of Lost Time @ SOAS, Jan 21-Mar 19

Header image: ‘Fortune Golf’ (2014), Archival Inkjet Print.

The Space Invaders – In search of lost time