Flavia Mazzanti is a media artist and co-founder of Immerea, a media company based in Vienna focusing on the development of VR Games and interactive installations. Listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List of 2023, she graduated with distinction at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2020, receiving the Gustav Peichl Award for architectural drawing and the Würdigungs Prize for artistic work. Her work explores artistic-philosophical theories on post-anthropocentrism, new materialism, body and identity, and has been presented at multiple national and international festivals. She is also active as public speaker and university lecturer.
Manuel Bonell is co-founder of Immerea, co-organizer of XRVienna and active as university lecturer. Manuel graduated with distinction at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna after receiving the Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Innsbruck. His work is driven by the interest for interactive applications in extended realities, ranging from XR installations, to CGI animations and VR games. His works have been exhibited in national and international festivals, among others the Ars Electronica Festival and DA Z – Digital Arts Festival Zürich.
Surreal Worlds and Digital Dystopias: Art and Games in Times of Chaos
FROG 2024 – Talk
In an era defined by multiple crises – such as climate change, wars, and economic instability – the intersection of games and art offers a unique lens through which to explore our collective anxieties and hopes. This talk examines how past art movements have emerged as a means of conveying specific emotions driven by the complexities of their times, while also exploring fantastical and dystopian worlds. These imaginary realms merge uncanniness and grotesqueness with a surreal sense of possibility and resilience, providing a space for both confronting our fears and imagining paths to hope and renewal.
The discussion will highlight how artists from the past and today’s game developers use surreal worlds and elements to reflect on the human condition in times of chaos. By looking at different époques and past crises, particularly the postwar surrealist era, parallels and contrasts will be made between the artistic responses of that time and some contemporary video games. Artists like Francis Bacon, Zdzisław Beksiński, and Leonora Carrington created haunting, surreal landscapes deeply influenced by the horrors of war and its aftermath.
Just as surrealist art conveyed emotions shaped by the crises and uncertainties of its time, video games as a medium can evoke similar emotional responses. Games like “Scorn” (2022), “The Utility Room” (2023), and “Still Wakes the Deep” (2024) explore themes of eerie uncanniness, megalophobia, distorted bodies, and horrific monumental landscapes in ways that reflect the emotional depth found in surrealist art.
By drawing these parallels and examining the differences, the talk will look at postwar surrealism in art and its consequential forms of expression, tracing its influence in contemporary media such as video games
7
