CONCEPT:
To play a video game is to fail constantly. A game over screen is a constant reminder of your defeat. As a queer man, Danny Jarratt is in a constant state of failure under heteronormative capitalism. He is a biological failure because he won't have children. And an economic failure because he won't create generational wealth.

To escape these negative emotions, he plays video games. Informed by a history of queer resistance, Jarratt argues that playing a video game is a form of queer resistance. When players start to play Panel De Pon, a 1990s video game series, they disengage from hegemonic narratives and stop being productive or social. In a world of pixelated blocks, patterns and stress, heteronormativity softens. So the only thing that matters is making patterns and keeping the screen clear of obstructions.

Danny Jarratt presents paintings that use puzzle video game compositions taken from game over screens. This work aims to appropriate a tense fleeting digital moment of failure and present it as a colourful physical artwork, suggesting a new way to succeed—something he has been doing my entire queer life.


ZINE INFO:
Composition from Failure is a zine and an extension of the exhibition of the same name.

This twenty zine features nine unseen paintings, a small essay by Danny Jarratt, a long essay by Jess Taylor and five finished paintings by Danny Jarratt.

This zine is printed on thick high-quality cardstock and bi-stapled.


The Compositions From Failure Zine is designed by Australian artist Danny Jarratt and printed by a local queer printer.
Please support queer Australian artists and businesses.

The zine is A5 in size and measures 210mm X 297mm (8.3 x 11.7 inches).

POSTAGE INFO:
Domestic Australian orders are posted in standard envelopes with protective plastic and newsprint paper layers.
International Orders are posted in A5 padded envelopes with a strong protective layer, paired with newsprint layers.

Attention INTERNATIONAL customers: There are issues with COVID19 with The Australian Post Office. All orders must be sent as packages which is significantly more expensive and slower. I understand that often the postage exceeds the item price, my deepest apologies.