Being and doing are not tasks that are mutually exclusive. In many cases they are the same. Product is formed as the goal-state of both being and doing. In being, production is a result of itself. In doing, it is the purpose of itself. A goal of modern civilizations is that there would be leisure time for a working class. Leisure time was a mark of success, insofar as it means a populace is free from the brutality of mere survival, these societies have the optics of ‘thriving’.
Production is prized as the ultimate mode of being of in modern society. To have worth is to produce, and often attached to that inherited incentive is the pressure to accrue capital. I sometimes fall into the habit of really believing this myself when it comes to producing cultural capital. If that is my modus operandi as an artist, then I should be producing all the time. It serves to question the purpose or intention behind this labour. This artwork is an tool for individual inquiry and introspection to ones actions, attitudes and behaviours.
This project was shown at Stride Gallery’s +15 Window in June-July 2016 and also featured printed in the publication “Bad Sport” produced by Good Sport Gallery in London, Ontario.
Documentation by Areum Kim, edited by Areum Kim and Ashley Bedet.
ashley bedet 