Vanishing Workflows by French artist Xavier Antin recalls the automation of the assembly line and its role in the upheaval of human labour, highlighting the resurgence of this cycle and provoking global questions about the value and future of labour, production, industry, and economics in today’s digitised world.
Moving images of the Botanic Gardens are printed and transformed into contemporary still-life tapestries, and a sculpture-like Bitcoin machine sits in their midst. As the machine accumulates credits by validating digital transactions, it sends an automated request for flowers to be delivered to Aloft.
Vanishing Workflows (Work in Progress), Xavier Antin, 2018. Image courtesy of the artist