Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart Brings a Giant Playable Artwork to ACMI

History becomes a playable videogame

Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart brings one of the Chinese artist's major interactive works to Melbourne for the first time, placing visitors at the controls of an unconventional journey through 20th-century history.

Presented by ACMI with the City of Melbourne's Now or Never festival, the large-scale installation takes the Long March - the Chinese Red Army's military retreat of 1934-36 - as the starting point for a collision of history, politics and videogame culture.

Using a handheld controller, one visitor at a time can direct a pixelated Red Army soldier across two enormous screens. Instead of conventional ammunition, the character throws Coca-Cola cans while confronting supernatural enemies and figures borrowed from popular culture.

The game unfolds across 14 levels incorporating historical landmarks, Communist propaganda motifs, Cold War science fiction and the visual language of classic videogames. Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter II are among the recognisable influences, with Feng deliberately bringing capitalist and communist symbols into the same digital world.

The result is more than an oversized retro game. By allowing visitors to control the action, Long March: Restart explores how historical narratives can be reconstructed and replayed through popular imagery and technology.

From paintings to interactive art

Born in Beijing in 1966, Feng grew up during the Cultural Revolution and experienced the economic reforms that transformed China in the decades that followed. Since the early 1990s, his work has combined digital technology, videogames, political imagery and popular culture.

Long March: Restart grew from Feng's earlier Game Over: Long March paintings, a 42-work series begun in 1993 that translated historical and political imagery into the visual vocabulary of early videogames. The concept later became a fully functioning large-scale game installation.

Feng's work has subsequently appeared at major international institutions and exhibitions including MoMA PS1, the Venice Biennale and Documenta. Versions of Long March: Restart are represented in major museum collections, while the work shown at ACMI comes courtesy of Hong Kong's M+ Sigg Collection.

Playing Long March Restart at ACMI

Visitors can either take control or watch the game unfold. The controller requires two-handed use and only one person can play at a time. There is no spoken dialogue or narrative text, and audio is supplementary rather than necessary for following the gameplay.

The installation contains loud sounds, flashing imagery and rapid screen transitions. Written interpretation is available in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, with additional translations accessible by QR code. A printed visual guide explains the controls and gameplay.

Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart runs from 19 August 2026 to 31 January 2027 on the Ground Floor at ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne. It is open daily from 10am to 5pm, except Christmas Day. General entry is free and no booking is required.

19 Aug 2026 - 31 Jan 2027
10am - 5pm

Where
Ground Floor
ACMI, Fed Square