Vesna Bukovec

Work in Progress. Deceptive Working Time

Vesna Bukovec, Ana Čigon

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A critical view of work and contemporary forms of exploitation of workers, such as extended working hours, non-standard and insecure forms of work, curtailing workers’ rights, hyper-production, and mindless demands for constant economic growth, the aim of which is not to improve the living standards of the most vulnerable, but to accumulate wealth in the hands of the wealthiest individuals, increasingly frequent occurrences of burnout resulting from the unlivable demands of neoliberalism, environmental pollution, etc. are themes and problems of today’s society in its broadest sense and scope. The work in progress with a decentralized exhibition approach represents a multi-year artistic-curatorial research created by visual artists Vesna Bukovec and Ana Čigon in collaboration with curator Tia Čiček.

After the first public presentation titled Work in Progress. Reflections on Communities Beyond Capitalism at Galerija Škuc in 2022 and the subsequent exhibition with the performance Work in Progress. Utopian Rest at GT22 in Maribor in 2023, the third version of the project titled Work in Progress. Deceptive Working Time has emerged. It started with a reading circle around the book Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, where the artists discussed with the interlocutors how the views on value and the valuation of work in the book resonate with their lives. In the research process, the artists also read the books Restoration of Capitalism: Re-patriarchalization of Society by Lilijana Burcar and the anthology De-growth. Vocabulary for a New Era. A documentary video Deceptive Working Time (2024) was created, in which Mag. Ajda Pistotnik from the Policy Lab organization presents perspectives on organizing work and society proposed by the de-growth movement. Professor Dr. Lilijana Burcar addresses the historical differences in working conditions for women in socialism and capitalism and presents the significance of systemic emancipation of women. The video was first presented at a screening and open discussion at the Škuc Gallery in Ljubljana in December 2024. Its revised version will be showcased at the Meduza Gallery. The video Precariat of the World… (2022) will also be on display, in which unionist Tea Jarc, classical philologist, anthropologist, and writer Dr. Svetlana Slapšak, and Jadranka Vesel from the engaged Research in the Social Economy (RISE) institute reflect on the position of contemporary workers, communities, past and future. In addition to the videos, drawings on paper and mind maps created during various stages of artistic research will be exhibited. The exhibition will culminate in a public discussion in September.

The work in progress is a development-oriented project, as its content and visual aspects cumulatively come together and incorporate new reflections and new exhibition elements at each stage. The uniqueness of this research-creative-reflective process arises from the inclusion of various media, group work, and learning. Active participants from different fields, later also visitors and other members of the interested public, are involved in the work process, helping to co-create the content parameters of the project and its development. Collaboration seeks to find answers to questions such as: How to move forward? What kind of future can we imagine and plan for? How to become and remain in solidarity and connected to one another? How must we transform ourselves and society for this?

Ana Čigon and Vesna Bukovec are socially critical and engaged artists. The main guideline in their work is the compactness of the research and creative process, where they insist on continuous learning and exploration through various approaches: organizing reading groups, conversations with experts and the interested public, collaboratively establishing conditions for the creation of artistic works and content accessible to a broader audience, which address everyday economic and social issues affecting a wide spectrum of people. Their research process is accompanied by a creative reflection, which is manifested in the creation of drawings, videos, and installations. Their research is purposefully directed at creating visions for the future that transcend apathy and the mindset that alternatives are no longer possible.

*The authors would like to thank Ajda Ana Kocutar, Lara Mejač, Hana Čeferin, Vasja Progar, Julij Borštnik, Alenka Sottler and Tia Čiček for their collaboration and sharing of reflections.

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Featured text was written for the solo exhibition Vesna Bukovec and Ana Čigon: Work in Progress. Deceptive Working Time, Meduza Gallery, 2025.