Crisis and Control, 2013

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The video titled Crisis and Control fluctuates between documentary and performance as an art form. The performers are real office workers and managers who practice yoga; these are actual statements. My contribution is to move these figures to the workplace and ask them questions about their careers, workplace problems, and escape plans. It can be considered a torture session where the subject tries to keep their posture and talk as if nothing is wrong. The truth comes across not as much in their statements but in their endeavor to continue, to retain the wholeness of their selves and bodies. They seem like they are not aware of the torture; they are talking as if they were standing in a regular position. Their blindness and their desire to endure make the whole situation dramatic. At first glance it seems absurd, even comical, but as the video is rolling, when the audience notices their deliberate blindness and their desire to continue, the comedy turns into tragedy. And of course, all of this points to the inadequacy of our ways of keeping things easy within the conditions imposed by contemporary capitalism.