Original artwork description:

64x84 cm | Filler, oak frame

This work is produced during the art event TABLES - Review which was executed at the opening of the exhibition "Tegning og tekst" (Drawing and text) at Tegnerforbundet's gallery in Oslo. Visitors were invited to respond to the work as it was, by making imprints with wooden shapes. The participants' response, thus retroactively became the work. Since they had only two forms at their disposal, a square and a cross, their response was expressed more through an aesthetic language than a rational one.

Gathering consumers response, opinions, and shopping patterns is a growing industry. This information is of great value. You can perceive it as commodities produced through evaluating labour. A job we as consumers mainly perform for free. We are not used to our opinions and experiences having a value for others than ourselves. On the contrary, we are likely to appreciate that someone wants them, and to have the opportunity to express them is often perceived as valuable in itself.
Capitalism has thus managed to further perfect its modus operandi. Consumers perform labour through their consumption, which generates exchange value for those who have the means to gather the information that this work creates. Employees' work is thus doubly exploited, first by producing the goods and then by providing information about their consumption.

Materials used:

Filler (coarse and fine) in oak frame

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