This project is an inquiry into what work is. Interested in decoupling work from the wage, to free it from narrow capitalist valuation, my work often is an attempt to reframe how we (the “Work Society”) see work or, at least, to expand its definition.
I used Python to scrape the results of the search terms from a to z that followed the string "work is ____" and superimposed the resulting phrases on top of a video collage from watermarked Shutterstock footage. The watermark reminds the viewer that, just like the phrases, it is content scraped and assembled from the internet.
The footage down progressively throughout the seven minutes as if to make room for reflection or to invite the viewer to slow down along with it.
Sound deign: I made a granular synthesis of cello and a man singing from free sound.org (credits to follow). I also added brown noise.
This particular project was inspired by Sam Lavigne’s Why Do We Work So Hard and Ellen Nichols’ The Answer Is. It was Ellen’s code that I reworked for this project.
My other python projects use VidPy, Sam Lavigne’s library and you can find them and my code here (Joan of Arc and a Species Goodbye) and here (Bold & Shy).
