One artwork that best resolves my exploration is “Symphony of Labour”.

Another work, this one requires visualisation, is “The birds are picking up things, so am I” In this work, I visualise the two videos of the Variable oystercatcher bird and the person picking up items that don’t belong to the shore to be playing in the same room together.

Through many explorations and experiments of labour in the capitalist world, I’ve discovered the never-ending incredibly organic labour of nature. People are so quick to complain about their own circumstance, however when we zoom into their world we see the hidden voice of nature -specifically birds, speak to the wailing complainers.

Birds provide a rhythmical balance of two extremes; Labour and Downtime. Their rest is to regain strength for work. A bird’s work isn’t the intense overwhelming work that we face hoping to hold a position or title, it’s a work that sustains, flourishes and enables them to thrive.

 

The idea of THE SYMPHONY OF LABOUR has been an interest as I have compiled a collection of sound recordings. I am interested in the way I could bring this idea to a work of art.

I want to try two approaches here. One being a work complied of just sound and the other is the addition of a visual.

I can only add the work with the visual. To view it with just sound close your eyes and listen.

I am finding that I don’t want the sound with the visual to be a ‘video’ per se. Rather, I see the work acting as a sensory compression. What I mean by this = (visualize in a square showroom) = in order to experience the artwork you walk into the space through a centered door on one wall. The wall directly in front of you has the visual playing. The sound (Symphony of Labour) begins playing from the door frame behind you. Perhaps even playing in the room that you step through to reach the square room with the visual.

Through this experimental visualization, I hoped to achieve this bombarding sound that catches you off guard whilst you are visually captivated/confused by the visual playing.

Speaking to the Visual:

I have a visual of a flock of birds setting off close to sunrise – early morning. They fly over the land of labour. The sound personifies the birds. In some regard, the birds fly away from this symphony of labour and in the other regard, they fly with the sounds of Labour.

Exploring the Parallel: The video work has its own elements of the parallel between birds and humans and the way labour is activated. These photographs allow for a focused eye on the labour of picking and choosing based on a set of requirements.

The Requirements: (Seen as valuable and connected to acts of labour)

Birds – Food or foliage for a nest.

Human – Finding the items that don’t belong.

This work is an experiment exploring the picking up and collection of items that don’t belong in the context they are placed in. The use of the hand in the camera frame acknowledges the thought of the person active in this application of good work.

This good work shows how labour in the sense of material continues to be directly related to our idea of downtime.

You can’t escape the traces of a world overwhelmed by materials. Material all point to a past life – bottles made in factories etc.

Downtime/ REST:

This artwork allows the labour to rest as the bird rests. A subtle audio track of a person resting plays over this video of a seagull resting on a rock. (Volume up high) – by the need for the volume to be high the listener is actually listening for a sound – in this case, it is a deep breath.

The research and exploration over the last week have brought out two works that show unnoticed activations of labour that don’t serve human labour but labour found in nature.

In some regard, this film on artist Stephan Gill has impacted my work. He talks about the birds’ world and our world. “I felt I was on a cliff edge…A hidden doorway… No human presence… The birds on their own, presenting themselves… ”

I have found an interest in the operations of my artworks. A parallel operating between two world; human and birds(nature). The interest I have taken in these two routes allows the audience to approach unnoticed labour with an eye that not just looks but sees.

The inspirations from Hito Steyerl film essays has brought out the active participant of an audience member. Recognizing the embodied knowledge and the familiar senses that each person carries with them as they meet an artwork. Specifically, a person’s experienced knowledge of labour and its sound.

Challenge 1: Juxtipose the audio and visual looking into a performative element.

Challenge 2: With the same visual compare opposing audio tracks.

This clip is a drawing to help roll some ideas. The interest here: Observing objects as evidence of labour.

Artist: Hito Steyerl

Steyerl is a multi-disciplinary artist though I am particularly interested in her documentary essays. The role that her work plays in art is an investigative one. The films she makes are experimental of today’s film practices. She draws on the camera’s ability to observe over a multitude of contexts and the use of film editing to hold these contexts in one grasp. This grasp is the duration of her films.

Hito Steyerl also shares the notion of labour in her work. I hope to learn her approach to these films she makes so I might bring forth my own application. I know that the tools I will use are on a more organic lens process rather than a digitalized world. However, I aim to find contrasts between nature and labour of our world similar to the contrasts that Steyerl finds between the real world and the digitalized world in C.G.I.

Flim essay Attempt 1

This artwork is a single shot- no cutting between scenes though it communicates an intriguing pairing of visual and sound.

The artwork ‘In Praise of Laziness’ alludes to the labour involved in the mundane of life, such as sleep. I want to highlight the mundane labours of life such as travel and settling in at home. The labour that it takes to essentially – exist in the world.

Sociopolitical: In my work, I also want to focus on the social aspect of work. Anyone can relate to labour in some regard. Though also approaching the work with a political lens too. A critique of capitalism and the industry ways of working promoted by fordism and taylorism. In saying this, I don’t plan on creating an in-depth discussion of capitalism. Instead, creating work that is aware of this political aspect of labour in the western world.

How might we recognise the unnoticed labour?

Moving forward with ideas around observations of labour in nature, there are three main modes of observation that the viewer can observe the work through. Or, I can observe labour through;

1. Naturalistic Observation
2. Participant Observation
3. Evocitive Obsevation

I want the audience to have a free mode of observation that isn’t tied to a particular looking. Yes, the lens will guide their looking but the audience would choose their deciding observation mode depending on the way they personally look at the world. I am asking the audience to make the connections around labour. This may seem to be a way to dodge the expected way of working as it is a contrast to this idea of the artist’s responsibility. However, I would disagree as there is a molding shaped by the artist when asking the audience to intentionally perceive. Drawing our embodied knowledge of self in the world. Capturing the audience’s attention too not just tell them what you want them to learn. Rather, challenging them to draw their own connections and conclusions between the elements presented by the artist.

How could I create a relationship between natures labour and the worker?