Citizen Coombs Wins!

Citizen Coombs Wins! appears to be a standard arcade game placed within the gallery. Mortal Kombat is displayed on the screen inviting the viewer to press play. The ‘player’ selects their character and awaits the commencement of the game; at first move however, the player dies – sound and text informs them that ‘Citizen Coombs Wins!’. By altering the expected play of the game, this work exploring notions of play, control, the institution and expectation. This work seeks to invite, engage and repel the viewer in order to question, critique and play with the role of the artist and the viewer within the context of the institution. The work was included in the international group show 'Ceci n'est pas une Casino!', curated by Kevin Muhlen and Jo Kox for the Casino Luxembourg and later toured to Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany.