The concept of work is one of the most structuring forces in the way we organise ourselves as a collective. It shapes how, where and with whom we spend most of our time, it determines our social status, and it influences our values. Work drives economies, produces wealth, and bestows social recognition. However, once it is turned into a commodity, it also becomes the centre of social tensions and inequalities.
Empregos Modernos (Modern Jobs) seeks to question the concept of work and the contemporary forms it takes, which determine material conditions of existence, social status and mobility, and specific and distinct power relations among citizens.
A chorus of workers – reminiscent of the Brechtian chorus – shares their daily working routines, where tensions, anxieties and dreams intersect. The seemingly unstoppable and often misaligned economic machine generates externalities that can only be perceived through each individual’s personal and intimate accounts.