Liz Tsui

Bronze
5″ x 6.5″ x 6.5″
2021

Thinking about the culture built around technology and online tools, Jumpman? pays homage to early iterations of video games that I am not old enough to remember. With the internet came the ability to purchase and play games immediately without ever having to leave home. A far cry from when arcades and pay-to-play machines were popular. With ease of access comes the inevitable obsolescence once content is consumed, but not in a material, tangible way. Like forgotten toys: video games, their stories, and characters remain in stasis and left to dust as their physical computers and consoles wither in favour of even newer technologies.

Wood, bronze, acrylic paint
30″ x 24″ x 24″
2020

I loved these little game cabinets as a kid. They were in every McDonald’s franchise in my neighborhood and remind me of a time when fast-food restaurants and malls had rides and places for kids to play. Growing with Grimace nods toward the slow deterioration of fun and whimsy in public spaces. I’d rather see more in the world that see the world from my phone.