Max Payne Cheats Only (2005)
2 DVD Projections. 3 metres wide each
Max Payne Cheats Only is a compilation of ten video loops of JODI playing the computer game Max Payne (2001).
The artists do not play to win but instead to break the illusion of reality by revealing a series of absurd perspectives and effects. The videos start with the entry of a cheat code, and then focus on the points in the game where the logic and/or visuals break down.
Max Payne is a third-person shooter in which the protagonist is a policeman seeking revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Game play revolves around 'bullet-time', in which time is slowed down to the extent that bullets can be watched as they travel through space.
'Cheats' are official or unofficial codes that can be entered into a computer game to alter its behaviour. In general these codes are designed to help players complete the game. The 'cheats' performed by JODI in Max Payne Cheats Only do not further the game's narrative, but rather offer pleasure in revealing the ludicrous, fragile way in which reality is constructed and cheated in this virtual environment.
