PROJECTION 010: THE ESTATE OF JOSHUA CALEB WEIBLEY
Game Transfer Phenomena
JANUARY 10 - FEBRUARY 15, 2025
CHART is pleased to present Projection 010: Game Transfer Phenomena, an installation devised by the estate of Joshua Caleb Weibley in collaboration with Jordan Dykstra.
Game Transfer Phenomena consists of 7 crates made to hold objects derived from Tetris’s 7 Tetromino shapes. The installation takes its name from repetitive gameplay’s influence on spatial reasoning and the visual/auditory hallucinations it induces. These perceptual occurrences were first observed following the wider release of Tetris during the late 1980s and are also called “The Tetris Effect.”
Projection 010 is organized by Alex Feim.
Game Transfer Phenomena consists of 7 crates made to hold objects derived from Tetris’s 7 Tetromino shapes. The installation takes its name from repetitive gameplay’s influence on spatial reasoning and the visual/auditory hallucinations it induces. These perceptual occurrences were first observed following the wider release of Tetris during the late 1980s and are also called “The Tetris Effect.”
Projection 010 is organized by Alex Feim.
Installation view at CHART 2025. Courtesy the Artist and CHART. Photo by Adam Reich.
L, 2023Pine, metal and rubber hardware, SolidSurface, epoxy resin, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
TN: What was the genesis of this project? How did Tetris become a catalyst for your work?
JCW: I was working as the manager of a crate shop and a storage/shipping company. I looked up at some of the crates being built and thought, ‘Yeah, Tetris-shaped crates’—that funny image sparked the project. Then as I made it happen, ideas just kept coming out rather than being pre-planned.
TN: What’s the significance behind the title “Projection 10”?
JCW: Projection 10 refers to the downstairs space at Chart Gallery—a kind of project room. It’s almost like a free play zone, in contrast to the upstairs ‘money-making’ side.
Installation view at CHART 2025. Courtesy the Artist and CHART. Photo by Adam Reich.
TN: In discussing tragedy, you mentioned the creator’s fate. Can you elaborate on that?
JCW: I view him as a tragic figure because he’s now very much a mouthpiece for capitalism—he got rich, and it’s sad to see a generous attitude converted into something coldly calculating, especially in the midst of the Cold War.
TN: There’s a therapeutic aspect mentioned in relation to Tetris. How does the game connect to EMDR and healing?
JD: A friend described EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—as a method where rhythmic, bilateral stimulation helps reprocess traumatic memories. Tetris, with its rapidly falling pieces, can trigger a similar processing in people, which is why it’s been shown to alleviate PTSD symptoms after events like a traumatic car crash.
![]()
S, 2023
Pine, metal and rubber hardware, SolidSurface, epoxy resin, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
TN: Did you ever consider incorporating movement or performance into the exhibit?
JCW: Early on I pictured hiring performers to periodically move the crates through the space. But I ultimately decided that was too many moving parts—literally. It’s something that might be explored in a phase two of the project.
TN: Finally, why does Tetris continue to resonate, and what do you hope visitors take away from this exhibit?
JCW: Tetris is a classic, elegantly simple idea that grows in complexity as you play. It taps into a primal part of our brain, rewiring how we perceive space and order. With this exhibit, I hope people see that same magic—not just as a game, but as a metaphor for our experiences with art, history, and even systemic forces like capitalism.
TN: In discussing tragedy, you mentioned the creator’s fate. Can you elaborate on that?
JCW: I view him as a tragic figure because he’s now very much a mouthpiece for capitalism—he got rich, and it’s sad to see a generous attitude converted into something coldly calculating, especially in the midst of the Cold War.
TN: There’s a therapeutic aspect mentioned in relation to Tetris. How does the game connect to EMDR and healing?
JD: A friend described EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—as a method where rhythmic, bilateral stimulation helps reprocess traumatic memories. Tetris, with its rapidly falling pieces, can trigger a similar processing in people, which is why it’s been shown to alleviate PTSD symptoms after events like a traumatic car crash.
S, 2023Pine, metal and rubber hardware, SolidSurface, epoxy resin, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
TN: Did you ever consider incorporating movement or performance into the exhibit?
JCW: Early on I pictured hiring performers to periodically move the crates through the space. But I ultimately decided that was too many moving parts—literally. It’s something that might be explored in a phase two of the project.
TN: Finally, why does Tetris continue to resonate, and what do you hope visitors take away from this exhibit?
JCW: Tetris is a classic, elegantly simple idea that grows in complexity as you play. It taps into a primal part of our brain, rewiring how we perceive space and order. With this exhibit, I hope people see that same magic—not just as a game, but as a metaphor for our experiences with art, history, and even systemic forces like capitalism.
Excerpts from Interview with Tyler Nestler, Founder of Interlocutor Magazine
Tyler Nestler: Could you introduce yourselves and tell us about your roles?
• Joshua Caleb Weibley: “I’m the executive of the estate of Joshua Caleb W. I’ve been a steward of the work of the American artist Joshua Caleb Wy for the last 15ish years… It has to do with histories of digital culture and an archaeology of art movements.”
• Jordan Dykstra: “I’m Jordan Dykstra, a composer and performer of music and sound. I helped Josh with the audio element of Game Transfer Phenomenon.”
![]()
J, 2023
Pine, metal and rubber hardware, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
TN: Tetris has a fascinating, complex history. How do you interpret its narrative and cultural impact?
JCW: Tetris is a game whose central logic is effectively communism—a centrally planned economy where ‘accumulation is death.’ It was once described as a global ambassador of Communism… but then it got eaten alive by capitalism. There’s something truly tragic about watching that transformation
![]()
I, 2023
Pine, metal and rubber hardware, SolidSurface, epoxy resin, ethafoam, felt
31 x 11 x 15 in
TN: There’s a therapeutic aspect mentioned in relation to Tetris. How does the game connect to EMDR and healing?
JD: A friend described EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—as a method where rhythmic, bilateral stimulation helps reprocess traumatic memories. Tetris, with its rapidly falling pieces, can trigger a similar processing in people, which is why it’s been shown to alleviate PTSD symptoms after events like a traumatic car crash.
TN: The installation features a variety of crates—some open, some closed, some empty, some full. How did you decide on that balance?
JCW: I wanted a full narrative spectrum. I ended up with two closed (empty) crates and three open (full) ones. This balance between concealing and revealing was key to echoing Tetris’s commentary on accumulation—and on art itself, where things are often hidden, lost, or even disappear.
![]()
T, 2023
Pine, metal and rubber hardware, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
Tyler Nestler: Could you introduce yourselves and tell us about your roles?
• Joshua Caleb Weibley: “I’m the executive of the estate of Joshua Caleb W. I’ve been a steward of the work of the American artist Joshua Caleb Wy for the last 15ish years… It has to do with histories of digital culture and an archaeology of art movements.”
• Jordan Dykstra: “I’m Jordan Dykstra, a composer and performer of music and sound. I helped Josh with the audio element of Game Transfer Phenomenon.”
J, 2023Pine, metal and rubber hardware, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
TN: Tetris has a fascinating, complex history. How do you interpret its narrative and cultural impact?
JCW: Tetris is a game whose central logic is effectively communism—a centrally planned economy where ‘accumulation is death.’ It was once described as a global ambassador of Communism… but then it got eaten alive by capitalism. There’s something truly tragic about watching that transformation
TN: Jordan, can you talk about your approach to the sound design for this exhibit?
JD: I composed a 12-minute loop where the core sound is built from crates being struck with a hammer. It’s static in its loop, but arranged in such a way that the elements—like echo, delay, and rhythmic permutations—flow in and out, mirroring the satisfying cascade when you clear a row in Tetris.
JD: I composed a 12-minute loop where the core sound is built from crates being struck with a hammer. It’s static in its loop, but arranged in such a way that the elements—like echo, delay, and rhythmic permutations—flow in and out, mirroring the satisfying cascade when you clear a row in Tetris.
I, 2023
Pine, metal and rubber hardware, SolidSurface, epoxy resin, ethafoam, felt
31 x 11 x 15 in
TN: There’s a therapeutic aspect mentioned in relation to Tetris. How does the game connect to EMDR and healing?
JD: A friend described EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—as a method where rhythmic, bilateral stimulation helps reprocess traumatic memories. Tetris, with its rapidly falling pieces, can trigger a similar processing in people, which is why it’s been shown to alleviate PTSD symptoms after events like a traumatic car crash.
TN: The installation features a variety of crates—some open, some closed, some empty, some full. How did you decide on that balance?
JCW: I wanted a full narrative spectrum. I ended up with two closed (empty) crates and three open (full) ones. This balance between concealing and revealing was key to echoing Tetris’s commentary on accumulation—and on art itself, where things are often hidden, lost, or even disappear.
T, 2023Pine, metal and rubber hardware, ethafoam, felt
16 3/4 x 23 x 15 in
LINK TO THE FULL INTERVIEW
Installation view at CHART 2025. Courtesy the Artist and CHART. Photo by Adam Reich.
The estate of Joshua Caleb Weibley was established in 1986 in Peabody, Massachusetts. Citing insurmountable economic, political, and personal factors, active production of artworks by its founder and executor formally ceased in 2024. Having shifted its mission solely to stewardship, the estate authorizes bodies of work for exhibition, as well as overseeing scholarship and conservation efforts. The executor holds a 2009 fine arts degree from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Work from the estate has been presented by the following venues: 839 Gallery (Los Angeles), The University of Connecticut (Stamford), Veronica (Seattle), TRANSFER (Brooklyn), Resort Gallery (Baltimore), The Ace Hotel (Chicago), King’s Leap (Brooklyn), Klaus von Nichtssagend (New York), Miyako Yoshinaga (New York), Vox Populi (Philadelphia), and Artists Space (New York). The estate’s holdings have been covered in various publications including Makezine, The New York Times, Vice, The Stranger, and Gothamist.
Alex Feim is a researcher, writer, and independent curator based in Brooklyn. Her research and writing focuses on intersections between art and architecture, exhibition context and phenomenology, time based media, and experimental cartographic practice. Her writing has been published in Art Spiel, Battery Journal, and New York Review of Architecture, and she has curated exhibitions at Thomas VanDyke Gallery, Field of Play, and Morris Adjmi Architects. She received her BA in Art History and Comparative Literature from Binghamton University as well as her MA in Art History from Binghamton University.
© 2025 CHART
ALL ART WORKS COPYRIGHT THE ARTIST
ALL ART WORKS COPYRIGHT THE ARTIST
PROJECTION is an initiative alongside our main gallery programming, highlighting diverse voices in intimate presentations. PROJECTION features artists in the naissance of their careers or those that have been overlooked, working across a variety of mediums and formats. All PROJECTION exhibitions will take place concurrently in two venues: our downstairs gallery space and online in our PROJECTION ROOM.