youConnect
youConnect is the beginning of a larger attempt to deal with the materiality of digital commodities, commerce, and culture. The work takes the form of a gallery display set up to mimic retail displays comprised of a popular laptop displaying a "tropical" screensaver while playing audio testimonies relating the hazardous working environments for microprocessor manufacturers and the negative health effects that result from exposure to toxins in the workplace. Pamphlets explaining the materials of the piece and narrating the separation between the digital euphoria of consumption and the abuses suffered by those (mostly women) working in electronics manufacturing were provided for visitors to take.
The screensaver is simulated on the web as a Flash movie with a clip of the audio testimonials and the pamphlet has been recreated as an interactive screen piece, with PDFs available of the original, printed version. <Flash Player 6 and 5+ browsers needed for viewing>