N NOWACEK

Fieldwork is a research project into the history of labor embedded within the wastescapes of the 20th century. Fieldwork archives the forms of labor embedded in the detritus of consummable goods that form the mounds of Freshkills park. Formerly Freshkills landfill—one of the largest of its kind in the world—this park now stands as one of the largest monuments to consumerism from the 20th century. Fieldwork represents a choreography of commodified work: agriculture, the work of planting, tending and harvesting, factory work and industrialized labor, and finally the large-scale distribution and movement of goods.

 

This work was inspired by shadowing scientists performing fieldwork on Cape Cod, and capturing and studying their movements on video. Film, video and photography of the other forms of labor represented (agricultural, industrial and distributional) were also collected and studied through the making of drawings (above) and videos.

The full performance is captured on 360 video to emphasize the contrast in the scale of the body to the wastescape of Freshkills Park, whose vast acreage is nearly incomprehensible. Viewed through VR headset, the piece serves as much a gateway
to the space of Freshkills as it is a place-based embodiment of the marginalized labor that lies within. Corollary photographic images of the work focus on discreet choreographic forms.