Authors: Ryan Debolski And Jason Koxvold
Title: Like
Publication Year: 2020
136 Pages, 96 Images
240x320x15mm, 950 Grams
Edition: 450; First Edition, First Printing
Ryan Debolski Made This Work During A Year In Oman As Part Of His Fulbright Fellowship In 2014. Like Explores The Physical And Digital Relationships Of The Migrant Workers Who Build The Infrastructure Of Oman, A Rapidly Modernizing Country Rich In Oil And Natural Gas. These Men, Predominantly From East Africa And The Indian Subcontinent, Communicate Using Widely Available, Low-Cost Smartphones That Help Them Cope With The Social Isolation They Face While Living In Camps For Years. As Quickly As New Friends Are Made, Others Disappear Without A Trace, Never To Be Heard From Again: Workers Are Deported For Various Reasons, Or Shuffled Around To Different Camps Throughout The Region.
The Book Includes An Essay By Jason Koxvold Entitled Raw Material: Capital And Exploitation At The Neoliberal Frontier, Which Lays Out The Work In The Context Of The History Of Representation Of Labour In Art.