Thoughts on Work / Purpose / Play


Work is such an integral part of human life that we rarely have time to consider it from a different vantage point…



Food
                                                               Shelter
                               Energy
                                                                                                                              Produce
                                                                     Control
                                                                                                      System
       Nature


Why do we work?

Essentially, an exchange of energy. Energy put in via work equals money which can be exchanged for food and shelter.

But there is something more in work than this simple exchange of energy. Our society defines us by our work. We ask each other “What do you do?”. We ask children “What do you want to be when you grow up?” almost asserting that they’re not fully-fledged people until they can work.  

What led us to this point? 

A gradual separation, between humans and their environment. Farming was the first step away from the integral, mutually arising system that humans evolved in. Farming still relies on nature, but seeks to evoke some control over it. This new way of being meant time needed to be spent differently, perfecting new skills and new ideas, eventually leading to the world we know now. 


Individualism / Nervous Systems / Mind-body / Nature / Environment / Community


What have we lost and gained in living this way?

In taking ourselves outside of nature, I can only imagine that we’ve lost a part of ourselves; a fundamental sense of connection and purpose which is probably very difficult to conceive from a westernised, urbanised perspective. 

In that loss of implicit purpose, there is now (for some humans) a possibility, or an imagined possibility, to seek out our purpose. The ‘what do you want to be’ question.



Artwork    

                                                                                                                              Artplay


Where does play come in?

As the assumed opposite of work, play seemed interesting to think about too. Just as work has changed with our shifting relationship with nature, play has too. 

At first glance play would seem to be the opposite of work. But is that true? Animals play, and I think it’s safe to assume humans always have too. Play is learning, perfecting skills. Skills which will keep you alive. Children are learning to live through play. Adults can struggle with play and there can be a guilt associated with it. 


Notes


I’m pondering these questions from my own perspective and lived experience – that of a woman born in the 1980’s in the UK, with two working parents.

My own experience of work has been challenging and varied. I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I left school at 16 and tried out many different jobs and career paths, all of which gave me valuable life experiences, but none of which were ever the right fit. It’s only now in my 40’s that I’m managed to find a way of working, and an area of work in which I can thrive, and which I find fulfilling. A recent diagnosis of ADHD sheds a huge amount of light on my meandering path, and I think that’s why this has been a fascinating area for me to think about.

Artist Statement and Bio.

Sources and further reading/watching/listening


Archive film footage - British Council (used under the ‘Attribution-Non-Commercial' Creative Commons licence)

Stock footage – Videvo (used under the ‘Attribution-Non-Commercial' Creative Commons licence)

Extracts of text from ‘Work’ from ‘What Men Live By’ Dr Richard C.Cabot (used under the ‘Attribution-Non-Commercial' Creative Commons licence)

Not used directly in the artwork, but fed into my thinking about the project...


London Community Video Archive: All Work And No Pay 

BBC Radio 4 - A Point of View: Work, Work Work, Al Kennedy 

Alan Watts Talks: Man is a Hoax

BBC - Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney