Marlene Mautner

The Deconvolution of Things is an art-game installation featuring a digital game, unique controllers (ludic things), a laboratory, and an office for game observation. Inspired by Bruno Latour's ideas on objects and things, the installation allows up to five players to collaboratively control the game through ludic things, which are connected to a computer via navel cord-like cables. These controllers serve as both instruments (sounds by Sebastian Scholz) and game controls, forming a network of agencies. Players gather around these ludic things, which act as focal points for interaction and decisionmaking, reflecting Latour's concept of the Icelandic "Althing" where people discuss and resolve controversies. In the game, players build a network of actors and actants, collectively creating a democratic artifact or ludic facts. The game is set on an abstract planet where the character, Erythra, an organism in constant transformation, connects with other organisms to form a superorganism that becomes the planet.