- Info
In the bustling, corporate climate of the skyways mostly frequented by workers on their way to the office, to meetings, or lunch, FORT’s The Calling shows a contrasting environment, that of employees fast asleep at their workplaces. While sleep has historically been considered a time and space to rest and regenerate the body, to evoke dreaming, perhaps even fantasizing, in our late capitalist society sleep is often a reaction to an overdose of work… or life, and seen as a dysfunction. Wide-spread phenomena in capitalist societies like exhaustion, burn out, or depression manifest themselves in sometimes day-long sleep.
The employees in The Calling all seem to have collapsed into a very deep sleep, possibly triggered by exhaustion. While the technical devices around them continue to work, the human bodies are out, completely dysfunctional for the work context and a mirror to the busy dynamics of the skyways.
- Info
In the bustling, corporate climate of the skyways mostly frequented by workers on their way to the office, to meetings, or lunch, FORT’s The Calling shows a contrasting environment, that of employees fast asleep at their workplaces. While sleep has historically been considered a time and space to rest and regenerate the body, to evoke dreaming, perhaps even fantasizing, in our late capitalist society sleep is often a reaction to an overdose of work… or life, and seen as a dysfunction. Wide-spread phenomena in capitalist societies like exhaustion, burn out, or depression manifest themselves in sometimes day-long sleep.
The employees in The Calling all seem to have collapsed into a very deep sleep, possibly triggered by exhaustion. While the technical devices around them continue to work, the human bodies are out, completely dysfunctional for the work context and a mirror to the busy dynamics of the skyways.
FORT
The German artist duo FORT consists of Alberta Niemann (born in Bremen/Germany) and Jenny Kropp (born in Frankfurt am Main/Germany). Since 2008 they have been creating installations, performances, and video works.
FORT uses everyday objects that are copied, rearranged, or transformed. Seemingly banal ordinary moments are adapted and transferred to the exhibition space. The resulting settings, objects, and videos have a subtly surreal character, suggesting, despite their supposed familiarity, an atmosphere of eeriness, emptiness, and abandonment. Oscillating between poetic and humorous moments, the objects frequently conflict with what the viewer normally expects to see.
Recent shows include Night Shift, Kunstverein Hamburg (2018) and Casino – Forum d’art contemporain Luxembourg (2017); Limbo, Langen Foundation (2018); The School of Art, Science and Technical Classes, MOSTYN (2016); and Retired, LWL, Museum für Kunst und Kultur (2016).