Anastasia WWH

There are two black non-slip mats layed out next to each other. Aligned long ways with just 10-12cm between them( the room is brightly lit, all white – with Georgian features- 1 fire place, wide windows made of 16 smaller panels) The floor – dark wood parquet, a skirting board, domestic or pub-like. The room has other small sculptural works installed on the walls and larger pieces free-standing. A ‘london plane tree’ holds onto its summer color outside the window, leaves flutter. A roll-up screen is self-propped at your feet, projector whirrs by your head, media player with USB clearly visible – connected to Digital Audio Buffer- connected to white headphone splitter attached (grey headphones lie flat on the mats.

The video shows people using tools which help quantify a thermostat a BMI & blood pressure report is given a large pharmacy “Oh hello again Mork [<?] its me again – this answerphone is cruelly short!” here are also shots which crop closely on the *** ceiling lights (behind someone who is talking) and a Chinese board game ‘go’ (which we can see is set up next to a hospital bed – A tattoo’d right arm reaches into shot – holding pebble shaped chequers between fore & middle finger and firmly taps it down on the axis of an empty board.

Marginalia = QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS

The film is broken up with black screen that has three white asterisks in brackets in the centre – about a third of the width of the screen is covered by this graphic – which at certain points will overlay other parts of the footage, Hashing up as an interruption , a break , or an elusive annotation. Tw male protagonists – whose faces we never see, are talking to their companion (or the Machinees) about work & life “I think it’s a bit too late, Dad.” And “that’s recent news to me” says one. And “they normally support their staff, unlike other agencies…” Says another. Although the edits in the film Do not allow more context to develop.

HOW:

The film is made over many months, footage collected indirectly, with no particular end – work envisaged. Simply edited into a loop, the graphic applied as image layer. Yoga mats borrowed from gym where I was teaching in twice a week. Screen easily rolled up or down – designed for temporary use.

WHY:

I wanted to reflect the conditions the work existed within, create a catalyst for conversation around agency, societal control, tools and machines which quantify and report (printed receipts were given from 2 machines in video) affect our sense of self & society?

Steve's note to all: I suggest you cut the headings: what,  how & why. The text will hold up well.