One More Go One More Go

This work references the much loved, mesmerising, enduringly compelling

classic single-player video game Tetris, developed by Alexey Pajitnov of the

USSR's Academy of Science in 1985. When playing Tetris, the player must

sort a simultaneously random but predictable succession of cascading shapes

in exchange for points and more time in the game. Yet, here, in Abercrombie

Lane, pieces are planted into a world that is less ordered and predictable. There

are grand implications of error here that lead to questions, such as who exactly

has been playing Giant Tetris? What were they trying to do? Could I have done

better? Is the city grid similar to a computer game or different? What brain-

space am I in when I'm playing games on my computer? Is it more or less alert

than when I'm waiting in line for a sandwich? The work seeks to challenge

conceptions of the North end of Sydney's CBD as an orderly, socially cold grid

and beckons viewers to assess their own level of interaction, play and hacking

within the city.

Ella Barclay.

Work created in collaboration with Kelly Robson, Adrianne Tasker and Benjamin Backhouse.

4 October 2008 – 31 January 2009

With work by artists from the City of Sydney’s artist run initiatives By George!

explores the potential of the City’s laneways, bringing them back to life with

creativity, innovation and new energy.