Work-Life-Balance

The installation presents two devices that serve the same function in different contexts: they simulate presence. A mechanical mouse jiggler shifts a computer cursor at irregular intervals. For monitoring software or activity indicators, this creates the impression that someone is working. Alongside it sits a TV simulator that mimics the flicker of a television through changing light pulses, suggesting an occupied apartment. Both devices are controlled by timer switches that turn them on and off in the rhythm of a regular working day. Work-Life-Balance addresses the technical devices through which work and leisure are organized today. Laptops and smartphones serve equally as work tools and entertainment media. The boundary between the two domains thereby becomes increasingly blurred. In the installation, devices take over the role of the people whose presence they indicate. Work and rest appear as automated processes, governed by time and technology.