MATCH 2 uncovers competition, a defining feature of neoliberalism, determining not just the market economy but our work, relationships and, if you look close enough, it influences every aspect of our daily lives. I felt the necessity to work on this thematics in order to interogate the ideas of improvement, betterment and progress that drive neoliberal capitalism, in order to interogate the systems in power ( hierachical, familial, economical, the systems of value ) that direct our behaviour and environment and in which we still participate even if we find there no more interest or agreement.
MATCH 2 uncovers the the competition in it’s two main and contradictory aspects. The subtlety and the brutality.
First of all, subtelty. To sustain, the game of competition requires a kind of equilibrium—if one player starts to gain, always the conclusion is foregone and the competition is over. Thus, two players of our hunger games, have to find an agreement, balance, symetry, synchrone, they have to be together. Then, mirroring and merging, they find themselves discovering differences as they attempt to reach the same image and uncovering the most subtle manifestations of competition – constant comparison, judgement and envy between individuals.
Then – brutality. MATCH 2 explores the competition through grotesque displays of ego and aggression, connecting the social, the animal, and the national.
© Fwb – Jean Poucet