climate change

MMF MMXX: PLASTIC FANTASTIC?

Prior to the unveiling of Inner Migration in the Slot Machinima program of the MMF MMXXIV, the British artist, environmentalist, and scholar Andy Hughes had already captured critical acclaim with his first game-based video work, Plastic Scoop, a powerful reflection on climate change and plastic pollution, shot with/in the virtual landscapes of Grand Theft Auto V. To fully appreciate the trajectory of Hughes’ artistic journey from the sun-soaked streets of Los Santos to the neon-lit corridors of Night City, it is essential to revisit this remarkable piece.

Plastic Scoop made its debut in the context of the 2020 Milan Machinima Festival, where it was lauded for its innovative approach to environmental commentary, blending the fictional metropolis created by Rockstar Games with pressing global issues. This work not only serves as a testament to Hughes’s evolving narrative and visual style but also as a cornerstone in the dialogue between digital culture and environmental sustainability.

Even better, Plastic Scoop jolts viewers into confronting the dichotomy between the ludic fantasy and the rapidly deteriorating physical world. Hughes ingeniously appropriates the immersive, hyper-realistic graphics of Grand Theft Auto V, subverting Los Santos and turning escapist power fantasies into canvases for environmental critique. The 24 minute machinima opens with a jarring juxtaposition: a vivid crimson ocean sunset is shattered by missile fire from an ominous helicopter, while archival audio celebrates plastic innovation with an oblivious, hyperbolic zeal. This striking incongruity immediately signals Hughes’s intent to destabilize the boundaries between fabricated digital spaces and real-world ecological crises. We are then introduced to symbolic character vignettes that further this unsettling contrast, including an African American astronaut emerging from the polluted waters to explore a factory as an alien planet, a clown plummeting in slow-motion against decaying industrial backdrops, a man ritualistically shooting plastic bottles and litter on a sidewalk…

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Matteo Bittanti

Works cited

Andy Hughes, Plastic Scoop, digital video, color, sound, 23’ 59”, 2019

Andy Hughes, Inner Migration, digital video, color, sound, 10’ 00”, 2023

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MMF MMXXIV: YEWEN LIU

The Milan Machinima Festival is excited to unveil a new machinima by Yewen Liu in a special program titled Game Video Essay. Join us for an exclusive screening on March 14 2024.

The Bialowieża Primeval Forest stands as a remarkable testament to the enduring majesty of temperate Europe’s natural landscapes, hosting an array of distinct ecological communities that have largely remained untouched. Commencing in the 1920s, the forest’s exploitation for economic purposes marked the beginning of significant changes to its pristine condition. In the aftermath of World War II, a mere 600 square kilometers of the original 1,500 square kilometers remained within Polish borders, with the remainder extending into Belarus. Presently, this forest confronts numerous challenges, including deforestation, ecological migratory shifts, displacement of local populations, and a noticeable decline in wildlife populations. In a novel initiative by Greenpeace Poland in 2018, GeoBoxers, a Danish company founded by Simon Lyngby Kokkendorff, Thorbjørn Nielsen and Nynne Sole Dalå,embarked on a project to digitally recreate Bialowieża within the virtual world of Minecraft. This endeavor aimed at virtual reforestation serves as a poignant symbol of hope and awareness, juxtaposed against the backdrop of the forest’s ongoing real-world struggles against irreversible environmental changes. The artist documented such an effort through the medium of machinima. World premiere.  

Yewen Liu, born in 1995, in China is a media artist whose work spans video art, digital installations, and computer games. With a keen focus on interrogating the role of digital media in contemporary storytelling, Liu reinterprets collective memories through her innovative artistic lens. Her exploration extends to themes such as gamification, geopolitics, and the broad societal and environmental implications of digitalization. Liu’s art is a conduit for sparking insightful contemplation on digital culture and its influence on our shared narrative. Through her diverse body of work, she invites audiences to engage with and reflect upon the intricate ways digital technologies, including games, shape and redefine our perceptions of the world.

Read more about the 7th edition of the Milan Machinima Festival