Artists Statement

Playas, New Mexico has always been a virtual construct. With past lives as a railroad town, mining town and ghost town, it is now slated to be used as an anti-terrorist training facility for the Department of Homeland Security. This installation uses the metaphor of the mirage to investigate the “reality” of our constructed meanings. The game player explores the remnants of this shell and discovers tracings of previous lives, all the while, avoiding those who might present harm. Viewers of the installation are unable to avoid contribution to the scenario as they instigate the spawning of in-game characters, some innocent, and some malevolent. Similarly, as they move through the environment their presence has repercussions, perturbing the vision like a mirage. In the end, there are no winners, but hopefully there exists a set of questions about our place in the world, our constructions, and our personal responsibility for the end result.                                                                                         jackstenner.com/project/playas-homeland-mirage

• Jack Stenner, Yauger Williams & Andruid Kerne, USA