The fourth edition of Mal Lawal was dedicated to the history of electronic gaming, with a specific focus on three decades (1970-1990), as seen through the lens of private expert and amateur collectors. The show also included a tribute to the creators of Computer Sakhr, an iconic tool for the Arab world, and a selection of locally-developed games that visitors were able to try. The aim was to explore the history of a period marked by the emergence of advanced graphic possibilities that revolutionised the world of video games.
From a nostalgic look back at the first inventions and their global impact to the development of versions adapted to other geographical contexts and the creativity that was unleashed by these games, the show dedicated a specific section to different aspects of that history.
The exhibition design was inspired by some of the games and consoles on display. Visitors followed a linear, chronological itinerary through “pixellated” volumes that evoked the suprematist sculptures of the historical avant-garde and blocks of contemporary video games like Minecraft. Each section was characterised by vivid colours, which extended to the interior of the display cases that held devices, consoles and cassettes, and light effects combined with a graphic base, also pixellated, that was overlaid with the iconography of the different games.
Reinforced by the projection of audiovisuals, the immersive atmosphere created by all of these elements evoked the digital settings of a form of entertainment that is now a well-established integral part of modern life and whose advent paved the way to new forms of communication and social interaction.
