Forced Labor (Red Sand)

Overview

Liliana Porter’s Forced Labor (Red Sand) follows a series of the Artist’s installations that display miniature figurines undertaking everyday yet seemingly insurmountable tasks. The installation at Sharjah Biennial 9, set up on a shelf, featured the figurine of a lady sweeping a mass of red sand. Captured in the middle of her work and confronted by an immensely disproportionate job, the woman’s predicament can be related to real life. Viewers are lured into placing themselves in the position of the fated worker.

Liliana Porter’s work often utilises toys and figurines that she finds in various flea markets and stores. She creates scenes and narratives that emphasise the human and therefore potentially real dimension of the figurines. Often combining elements of humour and distress, she implies through these mini fictional worlds an uncomfortably recognisable reality.

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9