Loyal employees was inspired by buzz words and endless lists of confusing, often non-sensical phrases and expectations that are common in online job postings and human resource language. In the corporatization of human labor, hr p-r-o-f-e-s-s-i-o-n-a-l-s and job recruiters often have to act like wolf in sheep’s clothes, rarely questioning themselves and their absurd strategies when normalizing absurd expectations and abusive work structures with corporate language.
Common expressions like ninja attitude, self starter, fast paced work environment, flexible to the business expectations, superstar, and similar phrases are dehumanizing and give the prospective employee an idea what level of disconnection and dehumanization they will have to expect. It’s you or me in the United States work market. Especially in US Cities and US culture, for most employees there is huge gap between expectations and compensation. The US, one of the richest, technologically most advanced countries of this planet isn’t exactly known for labor rights, workers safety or any sense of solidarity between workers or neighbors.
The sculptures are made with epoxy resin and simple cotton shirts, that are often bought and worn by entry level workers in the so called essential worker jobs which usually means underpaid and undervalued jobs. The buzzwords and dehumanizing phrases are displayed on the bodies that light up with neon light bulbs, pointing out the absurdity of the American rat race.