Yarny, Medusa och en elefant

We play videogames on desktop screens and on devices that we hold in our hands; at home, on the bus, together and alone. They connect, affect, and inspire us. Behind the screens, however, can be found diverse and sophisticated creative processes. Hand-made sketches and models blend with digital animation to imagine worlds that entertain, puzzle, and immerse us. Characters are sculpted, narratives are scripted, and the end result—the games themselves—range from the playful to the cinematic.

The analogue material behind a videogame can often be buried or forgotten. Yarny, Medusa och en elefant presents never before shown material from five groundbreaking studios—Avalanche Studios, Coldwood Interactive, Landfall Games, Might and Delight, and Neat Corporation—to highlight the visual craft behind one of Sweden’s most important artistic fields. Through sketchbooks, illustrations, prototypes and models, the exhibition pulls focus on the imaginative work of a group of talented image-makers who form part of this rapidly evolving field of design.

Illustratörcentrum
The exhibition is a collaboration between ArkDes and Illustratörcentrum (the Centre for Illustration and Graphic Design) – Sweden’s largest provider of visual communication. It acts as a go-between, connecting creative talent with clients. Since its inception in the 1970s, IC has been dedicated to promoting its members: more than 1,300 professional illustrators, graphic designers, animators, game creators and cartoonists, with an unparalleled diversity of expression and cutting-edge skills.

Boxen at ArkDes
Boxen is a platform for fast-changing, experimental projects at ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. It provides space for alternative voices to inspire discussions about architecture, design, and their relationship to society by promoting radical and responsive installations, exhibitions, events and dialogues by and between architects, designers, and thinkers. Designed by the emerging architecture studio Dehlin Brattgård, Boxen opened in 2018.

Yarny, Medusa och en elefant: The Craft of Swedish Game Design is curated by James Taylor-Foster, Curator of Contemporary Architecture and Design at ArkDes, with Sofia Östlund. Initiated by Caroline Agné and Josefine Engström, the exhibition is a collaboration between Illustratörcentrum and ArkDes with support from Stockholm stad and Region Stockholm.