Death By A Thousand Cuts

Hey guys,

I found a great video by artist Chen Chieh-jen from Taiwan. It was part of an amazing exhibition of video artists work that dealt with working class, thirdworld and sweat shops. It is a protest against the Taiwanese sweatshops, but also looks at the history of cheap labour. It is only a short extract of the video, but I have also found another small video of the artist explaining his motives on youtube. Here is the link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xqqca2EmXa8. It is up to your own interpretation, but I do know that to shoot the video, he got women who were released from these sweatshops seven years ago or more and helped them confront and be a part of his work. He deals with themes of abandenment and extortion. The women were fired overnight without adequate compensation or warning. Also in the footage from youtube, he incorporates clips of the sweatshops from the 60s, which relays a notion of history and the fact that this exploitation has gone on too long, or long enough. I particularly think the ending to the video is powerful, as it shows two of the women holding up a jacket they made and as the camera pans inwards it is an invitation for you, the western consumer, to try it on, or that their pain is on you shoulders perhaps. What do you think? There are loads of other greeat video artists on the first sight with videos from people like William Kentridge. Have a look and tell me what you think!

Sam