love.exeJarra Karalinar Steel

Artworks
A pattern of love hearts and diamonds in purple.

Growing up in the 1990s, romantic love was rarely represented in Jarra Karalinar Steel’s community in the media, and discussions about love often excluded romantic love.

Jarra found herself being immersed in video games such as Quest for Glory, Fallout, Baldur’s Gate 2, all featuring romance mechanics that allowed players to form in-game relationships. This passion continued as an adult with the Dragon Age series and most recently with Baldur’s Gate 3. The well-crafted, mature characters and relationships, as well as the fandom surrounding the companions inspired Jarra to explore the emotions behind fictional romances and the communities they foster.

love.exe is an installation that delves into the emotional landscapes of fictional relationships found in these games. It reflects on how virtual connections often serve as social surrogates, offering a safe space for people to explore their desires and emotions.

Participants are invited to engage in an immersive environment, encouraging them to relax, converse, and contribute their own digital love letters.

love.exe emphasizes the intricate relationships between our digital interactions and our emotional realities, shaping how we understand ourselves and our connections to others.

This event has concluded

  • DATES

    • FRI 30 August – SAT 28 September
      MON - FRI, 10:30 – 16:30 (AEST)
      SAT, 11:00 – 16:00 (AEST)

  • LOCATION

    • Arts House, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    • Visual Rating 75
    • Wheelchair Accessible
    • Quiet Space Available
    • Assistance Animal
    • Aural Rating 50%

Enter a world of digital romance, social surrogacy and immersive art.

Inspired by fandom, gaming and companion characters, love.exe explores how we can seek solace, connection, validation – and love – in the digital realm.

Audiences are invited to navigate a playful and immersive installation space where shrines devoted to these iconic videogame characters are infused with a vibrant collision of geek culture, kitsch romance and Jarra Karalinar Steel’s signature Blak style.

love.exe traverses the romantic and emotional landscapes that emerge when we fall deeply into another world, and deeply in love with its inhabitants.

      Here, indulge in the bleed between roleplay and reality. You’re encouraged to write your own devotional tribute to your favourite characters – adding to this digital bank of love letters celebrating fandom and fantasy.

      This expression of communal fandom taps into memory, nostalgia and mushy feelings, ultimately inviting reflection on how we experience romance and the interplay between our digital and emotional lives.

      Letters can be signed off anonymously but will be readable and form part of the ongoing digital work.

      Read love letters

      Acknowledgement of Country
      Arts House, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands we live and work on, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Dharawal, and Whadjuk Noongar peoples. We extend our respects to their Elders past and present. We extend this acknowledgment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences and communities, and First Nations peoples globally.