Juliana Cerqueira Leite

LABOR 2024

Labor continues sculptor Juliana Cerqueira Leite's research into the ways repetitive movements construct and deconstruct the built world. Four former assembly line workers perform, from memory, the movements that defined their work. Labor uses long exposure photography and techniques pioneered by Lilian and Frank Gilbreth in the early 1900's to draw parallels between the development of film and photography, and assembly-line based industrial manufacturing. The film and its original score by Nik Colk Void connect the material qualities of their mediums to memory and work, moving from animation to live action.

Nik Colk Void is a UK-based electronic musician and artist recognised for her innovative work in experimental sound, genre-blending compositions, and collaborations. Her creative practice revolves around the unconventional use of analog and digital instruments—primarily voice, guitar, and modular Eurorack systems—where she explores new musical languages through extended techniques and cut-up self-made samples via synthesis. Based in the UK, Void has produced eight acclaimed studio albums with her musical groups, released through labels such as Mute, DFA, Blast First, Editions Mego, and Industrial. With a background in visual arts, Nik has played a pivotal role as a producer and live performer with Factory Floor and Carter Tutti Void. She has also developed extensive work with the late Peter Rehberg, founder of Editions Mego, and collaborated with visual artists Haroon Mirza, Cosey Fanni Tutti, and Philippe Parreno.

LABOR was commissioned by and received production support from MONO NO AWARE. The film was captured by the artist using a Rex-5 Bolex Camera & Time lapse motor on 16mm color film supplied by the organization. Exhibition prints were timed, printed and developed by our partners at ColorLab, MD. The film was edited on a 4-plate Steenbeck flatbed editing table and spliced with a CIRO Guillotine Splicer at our learning lab in downtown Brooklyn. Scans and stills were made possible with the Xena scanner supplied by our partners CineLab. This film was made with the support of Mono No Aware and a grant from the Yale School of Art.