Whether distributed to the audience’s homes through the internet, or broadcast at a specific site (such as a gallery) through projectors and media players, new media art, video art and games all rely on electronic devices to reach their audience. In the shadow of the climate crisis, technology has increasingly become a zone of conflict as we get more aware of the environmental impact of our machines.
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It’s difficult to say if the development of new graphics technologies is driven by the desire for more complex, more realistic visuals, or if the growth imperative is imposed by the manufacturers of technology, that old equipment needs to be made obsolete through increasingly complex demands, in order to sell its replacement.
Polygon Ecology was originally presented at the Index Foundation in Stockholm and on Twitch, on August 12th 2020. It is a walking lecture in and about the virtual graphical space, focusing on the field of 3D gaming in an attempt to formulate a wider ecological critique of aesthetics and technology.