Artistic videogames are increasingly mainstream – but they’re not a new phenomenon. In the 90s, Australian artist Martine Corompt made videogame artworks that blended biological theory with technological development to explore the concept of cuteness. One concept that Corompt’s investigated is ‘neoteny’, a term that describes the way some species retain juvenile, ‘cute’ traits in adulthood to engender protective feelings in other species.
She drew a parallel between neoteny and the changing aesthetic of tech in the 90s. Her early artworks were made on Amiga, but she noted that Apple computers began introducing faces to their interface in the 90s, and messages addressing the user directly, creating a sense of familiarity – the computer wasn’t just a tool, but a friend.
In 1995, Experimenta exhibited Corompt’s Cutometer at the Virtualities exhibition at Scienceworks.
Works in this group
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Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Previously on display
22 November 2025
ACMI: Gallery 1
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
194852
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Games Lab → GL-04. Collector's Case
Object Types
Computer game equipment/Game