Rutherford Chang's Tetris Obsession at UCCA Beijing
At the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, a tribute exhibition for Rutherford Chang (1979–2025) showcases his unique project with Game Boy Tetris. Between 2013 and 2018, Chang logged countless hours playing on an original Nintendo Game Boy, sharing over 2,000 gameplay sessions on a specialized website and streaming on Twitch to boost his global ranking. The exhibit features small screens set at various heights, mimicking the handheld experience, along with the consoles themselves. Framed letters to the now-closed Nintendo Power magazine reveal that Chang's scores surpassed those of Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, including a notable entry stating, "On September 8, 2015, I achieved a score of 614,094... currently ranking me #2 worldwide in 'points' on Twin Galaxies."
Key facts
- Rutherford Chang died in 2025 at age 45 or 46.
- His retrospective at UCCA Beijing includes a Game Boy Tetris section.
- He recorded hundreds of hours of Tetris play between 2013 and 2018.
- Over 2,000 plays were uploaded to a dedicated website.
- He streamed attempts to climb global rankings on Twitch.
- Recordings played on small monitors hung at uneven heights.
- He wrote letters to Nintendo Power magazine in ultraformal prose.
- His score of 614,094 on September 8, 2015 ranked #2 worldwide on Twin Galaxies.
Entities
Artists
- Rutherford Chang
Institutions
- UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
- Nintendo Power
- Twin Galaxies
Locations
- Beijing
- China