Games as Enculturation

Lorna Mulligan's series of diagrammatic paintings take a critical look at the rules and objectives of structured childhood games in an attempt to discover the adult social skills that are learned through play. The behavioural patterns learned through the cultural ritual of games are often those of rivalry and ownership. They are incorporated into games of physical endurance and skill (competitiveness of organized sports); games of chance (consumerism of gambling); games of strategy (the military aggression of chess); and games of role playing (where winners are rewarded with power). Not all games are manipulative in forming stereotyped ideals. Some develop skills of body and mind in joyous, non-competitive ways, serving the same purpose of enculturation without such a hierarchical structure or motive. These paintings are part of an ongoing series of multimedia works investigating our memories, both personal and public, of childhood games. Painted in a variety of media on large pieces of paper, they include images of games accompanied by written texts.