StartPoint Prize 2016

Hannah Anbert

The installation Sacred Work by Hannah Anbert is composed of several parts. Its main theme is work as such, as a phenomenon running through all of society and reflecting the dominant ideology and ethics which hold it together. In her critique of the capitalist labor market, she opts for a highly unusual form: by modifying the lyrics of several popular hit songs in such a way as to address the issue at hand, and subsequently presenting them in the form of karaoke videos. Another part of the presentation consists of bizarre costumes – odd objects in their own right. They loosely evoke church vestments or work uniforms, again making the point that these “official” forms of dress carry certain latent social conventions. The binding element of both parts of the work is a performance where four singers clad in these costumes do a live performance of the hit songs with modified lyrics.