Alan Butler, Down and Out in Los Santos, 2015 – 2020

Alan Butler’s Down and Out in Los Santos explores overlooked and marginalised aspects of virtual worlds, focusing on the representation of homelessness within the hyper-realistic setting of GTA V. Using the game’s smartphone camera feature, Butler took hundreds of photographs of homeless non-player characters (NPCs) 'living' in the streets of Los Santos. By employing a photojournalistic approach characterised by techniques such as eye contact and depth of field, Butler humanises these often-ignored digital entities, drawing attention to their plight and to the broader socioeconomic disparities depicted within simulated environments. Far from being spaces of utopian possibility and political experimentation, video games often perpetuate and exacerbate social inequalities by rendering certain groups and experiences invisible or marginal. The way homelessness is simulated in GTA V is what Butler has described as an 'ambient reality', with homeless NPCs as props to add realism to the game world.

The circulation of these 'poor images' on social media platforms raises questions about the role of digital networks in shaping public discourse and empathy. By sharing the photographs of homeless NPCs on Instagram, Butler extends the reach of his critique beyond the confines of the game world, engaging a wider audience in a conversation about the politics of representation and the ethics of virtual documentation. This aspect of the project resonates with the work of artists such as Harun Farocki and Hito Steyerl, who have explored the ways in which images circulate and acquire meaning within the context of digital capitalism and surveillance culture. However, Butler’s discovery that the majority of interactions on Instagram were generated by 'sycophant bots' programmed to automatically 'like' posts adds yet another layer of complexity to the project. This finding suggests that even within the context of social media activism and virtual documentation, authenticity and genuine engagement can be difficult to discern. The prevalence of artificial interactions on a platform that exists primarily for self-promotion and relentless marketing, underscores the need for critical approaches to digital culture that can account for the ways in which algorithms, automation, and economic incentives shape our online experiences and social relations. In short Butler raises important questions about both the limitations and possibilities of virtual activism within the context of platform capitalism.

The project’s title, Down and Out in Los Santos, is a nod to George Orwell’s memoir Down and Out in Paris and London, which chronicled the author’s experiences living among the poor and destitute in both cities. This intertextual reference situates Butler’s work within a tradition of socially engaged literature and art that seeks to shed light on the lives of the marginalised and dispossessed. By drawing parallels between Orwell’s observations of real-world poverty and the simulated homelessness within GTA V, the artist highlights the persistent nature of inequality and the need for greater empathy and understanding across different realms of experience.

Ultimately, Down and Out in Los Santos invites a critical examination of the significance and impact of digital interactions within an attention economy driven by profit motives, governed by algorithms, and embedded in dominant narratives of individualism, economic capital, and the myth of the American Dream, without falling into the trap of 'virtual poverty porn.'

More by Alan Butler: alanbutler.info