Dries Verhoeven: To Perform

Eight hours lasting historic labour song

For Brothers Exalt Thee to Freedom, ten Bulgarian performers who have experience as labour migrants sing a historic labour song for eight hours against the background of a robot distribution centre. Their work breaks are derived from those at the 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.