WORK WORK WORK is a looped projection of six performance-based videos that address parallel themes: the ritualization of mechanized body gestures; the rhythmic and measured disciplining of the body; and the relationship between performed action, the creative process, and the production of an object.

Inspired by twentieth century texts on industrial management and worker efficiency, Zalamea’s videos raise pertinent questions about the implications of a post-industrial economy and a displaced global workforce, particularly as mechanical gesture becomes severed from menial labour.

Zalamea’s installation was presented concurrently with a Mayworks Kingston showcase in Modern Fuel. The goal of MayWorks Kingston is to increase exposure to and appreciation of creative expressions of work and work-related issues. MayWorks Kingston is part of a larger movement (with similar festivals in other Canadian cities) that bridges the gap between artistic expression and day-to-day lived experiences, illustrating that artists are workers, and workers can be artists, encouraging artistic engagement with issues of labour and the workplace and supporting workers, and the community at large, in exploring their creative talents.