In collaboration with the performance of Dries Verhoeven’s ‘Brothers Exalt Thee to Freedom’ in the Frascati theatre from the 30th of May to the 2nd of June, a three-channel video installation entitled ‘To Perform’ will be exhibited in our library.
For ‘Brothers Exalt Thee to Freedom,’ ten Bulgarian performers, who have experience as labour migrants, sing a historic labour song for eight hours long against the background of a robot distribution centre. Their work breaks are derived from those at e-commerce company Amazon. By juxtaposing robotics and singing, the performance questions the value of the working body, the labour movement and the legacy of socialism in the times of automatisation. Audience members can attend the performance for as long as they live.
The accompanying video installation, ‘To Perform’ reveals the performers’ views on the politics of labour, as they visually enact the tasks of their previous jobs.
