Out of Bounds follows a group of Melbourne-based artists (Goldie Bartlett, Andrew Brophy, Ian MacLarty and Kalonica Quigley) known as The Grannies as they break ‘out of bounds’ in Rockstar Games’ hit action-adventure videogame Red Dead Redemption 2, travelling beyond the authored limits of the game’s virtual world and into the increasingly broken and abstract space beyond. Rather than being driven by the desire to dominate or ‘win’, their adventures are driven by creative curiosity, presenting play as not just an end in itself, but as a form of artistic practice.

Through a multichannel video artwork titled The Grannies (dir. Marie Foulston), which is narrated by The Grannies themselves, plus an original artistic videogame and stunning stills, Out of Bounds: Exploring the Limits of Videogames asks what exists beyond the border of the digital worlds we inhabit.

The Grannies is accompanied by an original experimental videogame by Ian MacLarty called Red Desert Render, which seeks to recreate the feeling of curiosity and community that The Grannies themselves felt during their adventures out of bounds, and previously unseen images from the artists’ other adventures beyond the map.

Out of Bounds offers a rare glimpse into the cracks of the apparent seamlessness of the digital world through an artist’s eyes.

We live in a digital world. Bouncing between email, apps, video conferences,
social media and videogames, our lives are channeled through highly curated
virtual realms, each designed towards set goals and particular tasks.
But what happens if we don’t play by the rules?
Using screen-captured footage and stills from Red Dead Redemption 2,
Out of Bounds follows the adventures of a group of Melbourne-based artists
as they break ‘out of bounds’ in Rockstar Games’ hit action-adventure
videogame. While documenting the game’s pristine environments, they
pushed past the limits of the map, stumbling into an automatically generated
space players aren’t meant to access.
In The Grannies, a multi-channel video artwork inside the gallery, we view
their adventures through an increasingly broken, abstract digital landscape.
Accompanying this installation is Ian MacLarty’s original experimental
videogame Red Desert Render, which recreates the curiosity and community
that the players felt during their time together.
Out of Bounds reveals the materiality of the digital spaces we inhabit,
offering a rare glimpse into the cracks through the eyes of artists

The radical power of the glitch

Featured in this constellation

Ben Drowned

Inscryption

Red Dead Redemption 2

Jpegs

Glitch Feminism

Out of Bounds