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Currently on display at VRAL is Ghost City, Hugo Arcier’s groundbreaking 2016 video installation, which, until now, has never been exhibited online. To celebrate this event, we embark on an exploration of three works by the French artist that explicitly reference, or even appropriate, video game aesthetics and mechanics. Our exploration begins with 11 Executions, a machinima released in 2016. This article is an abridged version of a longer essay which will be featured in an upcoming book.
Paying homage to Alan Clarke’s controversial Elephant (1989), 11 Executions (2015) was released shortly after a series of devastating terrorist attacks struck Paris in November 2015, resulting in significant loss of life and widespread fear and panic in the city.
Before delving into the machinima, it is essential to contextualize the source material, or more precisely, its main inspiration. Clarke’s televised experiment Elephant, which runs for approximately 39 minutes and was initially broadcast on BBC 2, presents a minimalist and unflinching portrayal of sectarian violence during the “Troubles”, a term used to indicate an extended and violent period of conflict in Northern Ireland spanning from the late 1960s to the late 1990s, characterized by the involvement of diverse ethno-nationalist and political factions within the region, as well as the British government and security forces.
Elephant adopts a distinctive and peculiar style characterized by a series of continuous, static, and observational takes. Devoid of conventional dialogue or narrative plot, the short provides a chilling and evocative visual representation of the pervasive but often overlooked violence that afflicted Northern Ireland for decades. The title draws from the well-known idiom “the elephant in the room,” denoting an obvious yet significant problem that individuals prefer to avoid discussing or even recognizing. In this particular context, the symbolic elephant underscores the omnipresence of violence in the region, arising from the longstanding tensions between the predominantly Protestant unionist community, advocating for Northern Ireland continued union with the United Kingdom, and the predominantly Catholic nationalist community, aspiring to achieve a united and independent Ireland, free from British rule.
In Arcier’s 11 Executions, the emulation of Elephant’s style, approach, and duration is explicit. Arcier’s portrayal involves presenting a sequence of senseless crimes without providing any context or background, thus leaving the viewers to construct their own interpretations. The artist’s underlying intention was to compel the audience to confront the sheer brutality and meaninglessness depicted in a series of vignettes, which were crafted by appropriating elements from the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V (2013). With a conscious decision to eliminate any narrative frame, Arcier deliberately refrained from identifying or contextualizing the perpetrators and victims alike. Moreover, the sound design, encompassing ambient sounds, fragments of conversation, and more, intensifies the viewer's unease. The sudden, jarring gunshots, accompanied by chilling screams, further contribute to a profound and pervasive sense of discomfort experienced throughout the viewing experience.
The machinima’s observational and detached style not only heightens the atmosphere of tension and fear but also renders it a discomforting experience for the audience. However, the graphic portrayal of violence paradoxically induces a numbing effect, where the random killings eventually become a routine, an expected part of the viewing experience after the initial ten minutes, manifesting a relatively quick progression from shock to desensitization. 11 Executions assumes multiple roles simultaneously, functioning as a commentary on the representation of violence within video games, an exercise in remediation, and a sui generis remake of Clarke’s Elephant among other things. Although it diverges significantly in terms of locale, characters, and situations depicted, 11 Executions remains perfectly aligned with the source material in terms of mood, style, and pacing...
Matteo Bittanti
Worlds cited
Hugo Arcier, 11 Executions, digital video (1920 x 1080), color, sound, 36”, 2015, France
Rémy Belvaux, Andé Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Man Bites Dog, feature film, color, sound, 95”, 1992, Belgium
Alan Clarke, Elephant, color, sound, 16 mm, teleplay, 39”, 1989, United Kingdom
Gus van Sant, Elephant, United States, feature film, color, sound, 81”, 2003, United States
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