The 9th Digital Art Awards Taipei (Nominated)

Little Black: Life in the Factory
I-Chun Chen
2014, 10’00”
Video

Taiwanese labourers often spend their lives working in dark, stifling factories for slim wages that barely support their families. To put food in the table, they quietly undertake long hours of grueling work and endure hardships invisible to the rest of the world. This dignified stoicism comes in contrast to belief of capitalists that what these workers are paid is enough to purchase a life. Although industrial labourers often mock themselves as tired as dogs, they continue to work to the point of exhaustion for their families.

A note on “Little Black”
Feral black dogs are common in Taiwan’s industrial districts and are often affectionately referred to as “little black”. The same nickname is given to Taiwanese factory and agricultural workers – stereotyped as having darker skin from labouring unprotected in the fields.