Piece of Work

3-channel video work, stereo sound

Piece of Work looks at the erotics of control in the office manifested in the forms of officiousness, micromanaging, fallacious arguments and gaslighting. It explores these structures as perverse, as erotic techniques to get time-out, as a way of catching a break by disallowing others of one. Piece of Work’s narrative scenarios explore the way in which sexual sadism is channeled through these ordinary repetitive dynamics. Aesthetically, however, the film engages a screwball erotics grounded in being slightly off, in just missing the mark.

Piece of Work takes the loop structure of the video work to explore live performance. While the film’s structure remains the same for each loop, the takes of the performance included in each loop are distinct. The use of various performance takes combines live repetition with mechanical. By including what is conventionally left unseen, discarded in the editing process of selection, Piece of Work emphasises the impact of the affective nuances of performance on storytelling, rhythm and form.

CREDITS

Co-creators: Anna Breckon and Nat Randall
Performers: Sarah Carradine, Linda Chen, Julia Hyde,
Bodelle de Ronde and Nat Randall
Cinematographer: Ross Turley
Make-up and Hair: Leila el Raves
Sound Recordist: Dylan Reisch
Lighting Assistant: Sergio Martin
Install documentation: Jek Maurer
Still Images: Courtesy the Artists

PRESENTATION HISTORY

2022 Presented at Verge Gallery as part of Screwball exhibition,
curated by EO Gill.