Interactive Nostalgia: Playable Sculptures by Connor Gottfried

Canadian artist Connor Gottfried creates interactive, fully playable sculptures that combine contemporary art with old-school gaming tech. Made using acrylic, aluminum and electronics, his illuminated wall-based works double as fully functional game consoles. Instead of standing back and observing, Connor wants people to step closer, pick up a controller and spend time playing the games built into each piece.

His sculptures draw from familiar consoles, handhelds and early home computers, often enlarged and reconfigured into bold, graphic forms. Screens, buttons and wiring remain fully operational, shifting these objects away from nostalgia as decoration and toward nostalgia as experience. Interaction is not a secondary feature, it is central to how Connor’s work is meant to be experienced.

Each piece starts as a digital composition created using Photoshop and 3D modeling software. Components are printed onto acrylic or aluminum composite panels, then cut using CNC routers or laser cutters. The layered structures are assembled with spacers and adhesives before Connor installs working screens, controls and internal electronics, turning each sculpture into a fully operational system.

You can see more of Connor Gottfried’s technology art on his website and Instagram.

More art on the grid via Instagram