Beep Boop! Computers and Game Consoles Blink to Life in Love Hultén’s Retrofuturist Tech

7 views 10:00 am 0 Comments February 14, 2025

Beep Boop! Computers and Game Consoles Blink to Life in Love Hultén’s Retrofuturist Tech

From throwback pixelated video games to science fiction-inspired computer consoles, Love Hultén’s playful sculptures (previously) harken back to the birth of digital.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, the artist’s explorations of video games, electronic music, and retrofuturist aesthetics continue to shape playful pieces like “R-KAID-R,” a mobile video game complete with a toggle, all of which can be carried like a briefcase.

a sculpture resembling a retro computer or device in a teal hue with wood on the sides, with dials and wires and a row of three sewing machines on the base
“The Singer”

One recent work, “The Future Fan Stage” takes a humorous approach to a fantastical fusion of live performance, science, and computers. Commissioned for Gothenburg’s Way Out West, the screen doubles as a fully functional stage that played live recordings of the headliners “for what might be the largest yet smallest crowd in history: sperm and eggs getting ‘ready to rumble’ in a laboratory,” Hultén says.

The artist draws on controversies surrounding in vitro fertilization (IVF) that have reached a fever pitch during the past few years. Taking an optimistic approach to science and modern medicine, Hultén references studies demonstrating that music may improve fertilization during the IVF process.

Hultén’s work will be on view in Liljevalchs’ spring salon Vårsalong 2025, which opens on February 14 in Stockholm. Find more on the artist’s website.

a sculpture resembling a retro computer or console in a bright yellow hue with a silver backing for numerous black buttons and dials
“Leto”
a sculpture resembling a retro computer or console in white, with a screen holding a bottle with tubing coming out of it and numerous tiny vials
“The Future Fan Stage”
a detail of a sculpture resembling a retro computer or console in white, with a screen holding a bottle with tubing coming out of it and numerous tiny vials
Detail of “The Future Fan Stage”
a sculpture resembling a retro computer or device in bright yellow with illuminated orange dials and black and white buttons
“Y-17”
a detail of a sculpture resembling a retro computer or device in bright yellow, with a hand reaching out to press a black button
Detail of “Y-17”
a sculpture resembling a retro computer or device with a hinged closure, shown open with a white surface, a black toggle stick and black buttons, and a small screen with a pixellated game image
“R-KAID-R”
a detail of a sculpture resembling a retro computer or console in a bright yellow hue with a silver backing for numerous black buttons and dials, shown with a hand adjusting a knob
Detail of “Leto”
a sculpture resembling a retro computer or device in a teal hue with wood on the sides, with dials and wires and a row of three sewing machines on the base
“The Singer”

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