Playing Democracy is a giant multiplayer game of Pong, exploring the principles of democracy.
Exhibited at: Barbican (UK), Zebrastraat (BE), Somerset House (UK)
Awards: Finalists’ Award for Asia Digital Art Award Fukuoka 2022 (ADAA) Interactive Arts Category, Shortlisted for Zebrastraat New Technological Art Award 2022 (NTAA)
Featured in: Financial Time, Gamescenes
Interested to host Playing Democracy? Contact project@lingql.com to find out more.
Can we collectively work out a new form of social structure that works for us through social play?
As citizens, we value democracy and know that it is not easy. Democracy implies freedom, equality and fairness, but it also implies responsibility. The balance between them is delicate and when the equilibrium tilts, to what extent do we participate in the system, and can it still exist if we hold different values?
Structured as a competitive game of Pong, the audience controls the game paddles using their body movement tracked by a camera.
Each time a player scores a point, they can choose to modify 3 rules in the game which in turn changes the game environment. The rules are simple and are also, in essence, the principles of democracy.
- Fairness – The degree to which players are able to choose, make, or change the game rules.
- Freedom – The degree to which players in the game are able to play according to their own requirements, and in their own way to express their own individuality.
- Equality – The degree to which players are treated equivalently and as equal to everyone else.
Players can choose to cooperate with each other, modify the rules or violate them, which can cause the game to fall apart.
As more people play over time, influencing its fairness, equality and freedom parameters, the default game environment reflects the rules and structure that people are seemingly most attuned to.
The piece encourages people to question their understanding of the values and beliefs we live in and how we shape our social structure through social play. It brings into question ideas around social structures, our collective responsibility and agency in participating, the implications of consensus and our interactions with each other.
Playing Democracy is a project by Ling Tan. Commissioned by Barbican and Lumen Arts Projects.
