ASSEMBLY II, 2022

Video Installation

During my residency at ZK/U Berlin (Centre for Arts and Urbanistics), I developed two new works that respond to the site's state of transformation. "Assembly II" is a film installation that raises questions about global labor practices, using the construction site of ZK/U as a focal point. The creation of this work was directly influenced by shifting geopolitical events; for example, construction was halted when steel, typically sourced from Ukraine, could not reach Berlin due to Russia's invasion. This is just one of the many stories I uncovered through my exploration of materials, processes, and the site itself.

I installed the film within the construction site, creating an environment that integrated the very objects and materials used in the building's renovation. I stretched a piece of tarp across a metal fence to serve as a screen for the projected film. Beyond the film itself, I placed floodlights in various areas to draw parallels between the footage and the material reality of the site. The film presents a collage of found footage that I collected over the past year, originally shared as 15-second clips on social media. These clips overlap and intertwine different geographies, modes of production, extraction processes, labor conditions, and techniques.

Together, "Assembly I" and "Assembly II" express the inherent global nature of the local, revealing how the materials used at ZK/U are tied to fabrication sites, construction processes, and labor forces from across the world.