The installation, made of metal and wood elements, visually recalls the spaces of board games, playgrounds, and social structures. The ladders reference the structures of playground climbing frames, while the snakes evoke the aesthetics of wooden toys. The design of the sandpit takes shape both in the game board and in the sand mill, which serves as a „goal.” The sand, serving as the game board, reflects Márk Áron Éber’s model of social structure, which analyzes the class dynamics of Hungarian society after the fall of communism. The placement of the sand and the design of the game elements symbolize the challenges of social mobility and the constraints on individual choices, highlighting the boundaries imposed by social structures. The symbolism of snakes and ladders thus not only retains the game’s heritage but also reimagines its moral and social significance.

In dialogue with the theories of Mark Fisher and Byung-Chul Han, the exhibition explores the imperative of self-optimization and its psychological consequences in neoliberal societies. Following Fisher’s critique of the depressive nature of “capitalist realism” and Han’s critique of the „performance-driven society,” narratives surrounding work, success, and failure are transposed into the realm of play. The question of whether mobility is a genuine possibility or merely constrained by structural forces is not addressed as an abstract theoretical discussion but is instead articulated spatially and symbolically, making it the central organizing principle of the exhibition.