why don’t the cops fight each other? is a desktop documentary about an attempt to modify the relationships between police officers in Grand Theft Auto V.

This work engages the “modding” scene for GTA, a community of people and tools that enable modifications to the game world. While these mods are almost limitless in scope, one property is completely immutable: the police officers in the game will never fight each other. Through an exhaustive forensic analysis of the game’s source code and engagement with mod developers, the artist demonstrates the extent to which the cultural imaginary concerning the real world police is projected into the game space.

Installed at the Red House in Taiwan for the Tapei Digital Arts Festival 2021:

Made with support from Media Art Exploration & Akademie Schloss Solitude

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