Born out of the need to exhibit playable artwork without the baggage of 80s arcade structures or nerdy conventions settings, LIKELIKE popped up last February in Paolo Pedercini (executive director) and Tenley Schmida’s (reluctant director) garage in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA.
Since its conception, LIKELIKE has hosted four group exhibitions which have dealt with themes including complicated relationships, the first person shooter, man’s best friend and labor as work. Opening next month, June 1, Fanciful Bodies will explore the human figure.
With shifting rules, structures, narratives, technology, and perhaps most difficult of all, the viewer’s attention span and willingness to participate, Pedercini recognizes the challenges games face in a white walled setting but sees them more as obstacles to work with rather than inhibit.
Somehow, I managed to not even ask Pedercini about the origin of the gallery’s name. Is it a reference to Instagram double taps? A satirical spinoff of the word “life-like”? In the world of Legend of Zelda, jello-like enemies named “Like Like” are known for sucking up Link and stealing his equipment.The name’s mystery aside, I spoke to Perdercini about LIKELIKE’s past, present, and future.
Read the interview with Pedercini at The Rib.
Fred Blauth 