blue player two

i'm incredibly excited to take part in my very first international show. the autumn society's going to  paris, france at LA FLAQ GALLERY: "8-BIT CHAMPIONS"! (produced & curated by CHOGRIN and Thomas Olivri-in association with geek-art.net ). the theme of the show is to illustrate an 8-bit game... and while the first game i saw on the list was circus charlie, (which instantly became my absolute favorite arcade game once i visited the amazing FUN SPOT in new hampshire,) i chose to illustrate bubble bobble. my favorite NES game of all time.

it was an easy decision to make, but once i tried to choose specifics from the game, it became impossible. i wanted to include the potion. i wanted to include the BIG diamond. i grew up on this game and it became clear to me how obsessed i really was with this game when i went home the other day and heard my dad whistling the entire theme song flawlessly without having played or heard it anytime recently.  not to mention it's been my ringtone for months.. :)

in the end i chose level 1.  it may not be my favorite level and it's not the most exciting or eventful, but it's the level we always played no matter what. (and by we, i mean my sister and i.)  we always started from the beginning. there was no saving, there was no continuing at a later date. level 1 is the level we have seen more than any level.  i wanted to include all my favorite items and prizes, but i kept it simple and accurate, something i have trouble forcing myself to do.

i chose to highlight player 2, the blue dinosaur, rather than player 1, the green.  the blue dude was always mine. i spent literally more than half my nintendo time watching my sister play or being the inferior player 2. my sister (righfully) hogged player 1 in any game, so no matter what i was player 2, and that blue little dinosaur represents me as a gamer. the epitome of my entire childhood-video game-memories-life-ish.

last little detail about this piece, i made my player 2 on a 3-dimensional bubble.  an old accessory from a munny figure was a half-sphere with little pegs for "dunny" ears.  i took off the ears, added some clay and smoothed it out for a round surface.  perfect for a bubble. you can see below the 3-D effect. i just wanted a little more emphasis on the 2nd player, seeing as how much he means to me. i know it's just a video game, but it really feels like a huge part of my memorable little childhood.

 

if only i could go to france!