Threshold artspace at Perth Concert Hall continues its year long exhibition Players, showcasing the best in art games and toys. This October, Horsecross will introduce two new pieces, Mare Tralla's Eurogame and Olle Essvik's Sun Clock.

Players has been running throughout 2006 showcasing different art games by different artists each month. Players has helped establish the Threshold artspace as the only public gallery in the UK with a consistent, year round curatorial programme dedicated to this emerging genre of contemporary art.

The art games showcased as part of Players are interactive, computer game-like projects designed by independent international artists who probe the possibilities created by the videogaming platforms. In the process, artists introduce new socio-political messages; forge technical and aesthetic innovations or even subvert the standards imposed by the gaming culture – all done at a fraction of the costs incurred by the big gaming industry.

Dubbed "Estonia's answer to Tracey Emin" by some critics, Mare Tralla’s works often tackle issues of identity. For Players, Mare was invited to revisit and update Eurogame – her historical interactive artwork which was initially commissioned to run on the British Airways website in 1997. However, with Europe continually changing and growing, her Eurogame takes on a new significance while retaining its retro-chic look and even some of the borders of the mid 1990s.

Humorous and engaging, Mare's art game starts with an outline of the map of the European continent. Scattered around the edges are the shapes of the various countries, as defined by their international borders. Visitors to the artspace can drag these pieces and try them for fit, like in a jigsaw puzzle. If one successfully gets all the countries in the right place, the game moves to an exciting new level. While partaking in the re-mapping of new Europe, visitors can reflect on the continued existence of nationalism and borders within Europe, both physical and cultural.

Threshold’s other new exhibition for October is Olle Essvik’s Sun Clock. Olle re-purposed one of his works tracking the sun's movement in the sky. Like Glenlandia by Susan Collins, Olle's Sun Clock is another in the series of live Internet interventions. His artwork will allow visitors to follow the sun as it rises and sets over Perth in real time, day after day throughout October. The black and yellow bands of the work represent the sun’s brush strokes in the sky like a slow moving painting. People can even download the art game onto their mobile phones from jimpalt.org/sunclock.

The Players exhibition can be experienced at the Threshold Stage area of Perth’s new concert hall. The space has been transformed into a digital playground for young and old to engage with some of the best art games around. Artists and audiences alike have been able to use the state-of the art facilities including the huge projection walls, smart surveillance cameras, the wireless gamepad, and under-floor speakers to bring the art games alive and have lots of fun.

Threshold is Scotland’s first dedicated gallery for digital public art, with nine unique spaces presenting a varied programme of artists’ films, videos, games, text, photography, performance, light, sound and software art.

Sun Clock by Olle Essvik and Eurogame by Mare Tralla can be experienced at the Threshold artspace, Perth Concert Hall throughout October. [Except during the 72nd National Conference of the Scottish National Party 11 – 14 Oct] Free entry up to 14 hours daily and at various times.


Artist talks

Olle Essvik will talk about his prolific practice jimpalt.org on Wed 11 Oct at 11am, Cinema 1, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), Dundee, www.dca.org.uk

Phone DCA to reserve a FREE place on 01382 909900.

This event is fourth in a series of Threshold artspace off-site events in partnership with the
University of Dundee. Previous presentations featured artists Dan Perjovschi, Paul Farrington and Thomson + Craighead.