The Garden of Forking Paths: An exhibition of historic and contemporary artists’ computer games :: October 3 – 24, 2009 :: Loop Space. 109 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Jorge Luis Borges’ 1941 short story “The Garden of Forking Paths” predates the Internet but its notions of non-linearity, the storyline surrounding an infinite, labyrinthine book that realises multiple paths and futures are echoed in the information age with hypertext, the World Wide Web and the form and structure of computer games. Just as Borges and his contemporaries pushed the envelope of the narrative form, so too artists have been creating and modifying computer games, experimenting with the notions of what a game is and exploring alternate approaches to interaction and play methodologies. This exhibition draws together notable historic and contemporary examples of games created by artists that push the bounds of the genre and break the orthodox set of rules.

Artists: Laurie Anderson (USA) with Hsin-Chien Huang (Taiwan); Andy Deck (USA); Anita Fontaine (Australia) and Mike Pelletier (Canada); Jaron Lanier (USA); Michael Nyman (UK); Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie (UK); Tale of Tales (Belgium)

Curator: Neil Jenkins