Alice Bucknell's 'The Alluvials': A Climate Change Odyssey Through Art and Gaming
Embark on an interactive journey to a climate-altered future.
Alice Bucknell's 'The Alluvials': A Vision of Tomorrow's Los Angeles in Art and Gaming
In 2023, artist Alice Bucknell unveiled 'The Alluvials,' a striking video creation populated by various creatures and sediment, painting a picture of Los Angeles in the not-so-distant future. This Californian metropolis, once famed for its sandy shores, finds its urban core overtaken by sand, reshaping its vast network of roads and towering structures into a landscape of dunes and dust. Through this imaginative portrayal of an alternative reality, Bucknell delves into both the origins and repercussions of this desiccated environment. The piece reflects on the historical presence of the Tongva people in the greater Los Angeles area, while also conceptualizing entities like the water purification enterprise Qwench, a landscape in perpetual combustion, and an endless twilight where the sky forever basks in a golden glow. A year later, this concept evolved into 'The Alluvials' video game (2024), a multi-stage interactive experience that plunges players deeper into the world first seen in the film. With each immersive journey through its digital expanse, the project vividly illustrates the unsettling and almost inconceivable consequences of climate disruption. As players navigate a not-so-far-off Los Angeles, Bucknell prompts critical questions: Is this the future we desire? And if not, what measures can we undertake to alter our trajectory in the face of ongoing climate change?
Stepping into the Shoes of the Unseen: Embodied Perspectives of Non-Playable Characters
The term 'alluvial' refers to materials deposited by flowing water, such as clay, silt, sand, or gravel, as defined by Merriam-Webster. In her game, Bucknell immerses players in an environment that is distinctly alluvial, characterized by the accumulation of sand and silt in areas where water once flowed. This experience unfolds across four distinct levels, where players adopt the viewpoints of what are typically considered non-playable characters (NPCs). By doing so, Bucknell redefines traditional gaming mechanics, introducing what she describes as 'queer and ecological game mechanics,' thereby challenging the established norms of player interaction and narrative.
Unveiling the Layers: A Deep Dive into Each Level of 'The Alluvials'
In one particularly striking segment, known as 'Extinction Burst,' the game commences within a vividly red forest, where a mountain lion glides along a fuchsia-colored path. This scene gradually transitions into a parched basin, covered in a myriad of white particles. Upon closer inspection, these ethereal flakes are revealed to be a species of moth. As players draw near a desert tree positioned centrally in the basin, a question materializes in the sky, rendered in hazy blue script: 'ARE YOU MOTH OR ARE YOU TREE?' The subsequent journey through the desert landscape varies depending on whether the player aligns with the moth or the tree. Other levels include navigating through a raging forest fire, transforming into a wolf in a desolate, sand-choked Los Angeles, or piloting an airboat along the Los Angeles River as dusk settles. By offering these diverse viewpoints, the game not only challenges the player's control but also cultivates an experiential understanding of elements often overlooked by humans: the insights of a moth, a yucca plant, or a body of water.
The Journey of 'The Alluvials': A Chronology of Exhibitions and Installations
'The Alluvials' has graced exhibition spaces across the United States, Europe, and Asia, presented in both its film and video game iterations. In each venue, Bucknell's work has manifested in unique ways. For instance, when the film was showcased at LUMINEX in downtown Los Angeles as a four-channel installation, scenes of a forest inferno illuminated the building, creating a surreal interplay between the real and imagined cityscapes. At HEK Other Intelligences 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, attendees were invited to recline on pink camouflage beanbags while experiencing the game as a two-channel video installation, immersing themselves in a fuchsia-bathed environment.
Navigating the Future: A Guide to Existence within the World of 'The Alluvials'
Within her artistic creation, Bucknell weaves a tapestry of speculative fiction, narrating from an unknown future yet imbued with the ominous resonance of a timeless cautionary tale. True to the intricate worlds she crafts within game engines, Bucknell vividly materializes the promises, perils, and prophecies that modern-day executives and climate scientists frequently disseminate through news channels. However, here, an unparalleled opportunity arises: to advance, level by level, through the highly probable repercussions of our current actions if left unchecked. In this envisioned posthuman utopia, humanity recedes, shedding the anthropocentric ideologies that lead to artificial waters. Instead, it advances toward a future shaped by the inherent wisdom and mechanisms of the natural world, before the point of no return.