BULLFIGHT IN THE RED OCTOBER GARMENT FACTORY (2022)
video 2’The video evokes the image of the working woman typically portrayed in archival newsreels of socialist garment factories, the “gray little sparrow” laboring tirelessly while, in the background, two men wrestle in the suits she has sewn.
The title suggests ironically that sewing might represent a bastion of masculinity, prompting reflections on work-related gender stereotypes. At the same time, each character embodies overachievement and varying degrees of endless competition: the classic “all against all” case is contrasted with the self-exploiting seamstress working on piece-rate wages, thus being forced to compete with herself.
Confronting viewers the absurdity of overachievement and the dubious celebration of endless growth, the stylized imagery juxtaposes socialist wage labor with today’s meritocratic society.
Exhibited in K11 Labor as part of the exhibition Work Competition
Budapest, Feb 27 - March 21 2024
Cast: András Egressy, Bence Tóth, Violetta Vigh
Camera: Dávid Kirsch
Post-production: Violetta Vigh
Special thanks to Bettina Calla Ernst and MOME Techpark
Interior photo: Ivola Bazánth