Toiler's Dirge

Toiler's Dirge is an experimental film that explores invisible labor and the death of connection. For this project, a variety of insects were collected over the course of one year and were filmed at ultra-high resolution with a probe lens. The work invites viewers to investigate the intricacies of bodies of tiny workers that often go unnoticed. The camera explores them with a fascination as if they are alien or supernatural beings. This experimental film also incorporates footage of an abandoned Intensive Care Unit in a building that previously served as a city hospital, connecting ideas of emergency medical care to the labor that livings things put into those they are connected to. The voices in the film perform journal entries written by each artist. These voices are manipulated through formant altering and pitch-shifting in order to obscure the identity of each voice. Many other sounds used in this film are based on field recordings conducted in the abandoned hospital, including sounds of plumbing, room noise, and HVAC systems.