Third International Symposium on Electronic Art (TISEA) 1992 ⁄ VNS Matrix

The ALL NEW GEN images presented for TISEA are the first part of a work in progress towards an interactive installation. ALL NEW GEN critiques a highly influential form of technology — the ‘Gameboy’ hand held computer games, originally developed by the Japanese company Nintendo. ‘Gameboys’ have been on the market now for several years, gaining immense popularity with children and (in particular) adolescent boys.

In the ‘Gameboy’ worlds exemplified by Nintendo’s Donkey Kong and Super Mario and Sega’s Sonic Hedgehog the rationale is simple — there is a hero and an enemy (or more precisely, a hero who engages with multiple manifestations of enemies and hazards).

ALL NEW GEN is a new contender on the market, a ‘Gamegirl’ whose enemy is the computer terminal “Big Daddy Mainframe”, the essence of a futuristic omnipotent military-industrial complex. With her posse of Homegirls, ALL NEW GEN‘s mission of sabotage is to act as a virus in the terminal, infiltrating and corrupting the databanks. She is the modem of Big Daddy’s discontent, the ultimate mercenary of slime.

In ALL NEW GEN VNS Matrix continue their commentaries on the relationship of the body to computers, ethics and technological develop- ment and the representation of gender roles in popular culture. VNS Matrix are Virginia Barratt, Francesca da Rimini, Julianne Pierce and Josephine Starrs. The ALL NEW GEN installation will be exhibited in late 1993.