Thick Skin

A close observational approach returns the gaze to disruptive city construction sites and their activators—construction workers. A camera, written description, and keywords screen-printed on reflective fabric become both medium and message, intervening on construction materials such as traffic signs, scaffold tubes, and safety gear. The workers’ fluorescent orange suits act as high-visibility signifiers, drawing attention to these laboring bodies set against a mundane architectural backdrop. In this final presentation, Mitza will screen her film, Thick Skin—a close look at construction workers during labor on sites across the Netherlands—at the Barn of Mediamatic. In dialogue with the film, she will construct a sculptural installation using building materials found at the Marineterrein, creating an intervention in part of the outdoor shooting range. Finally, a performative reading of her thesis will occur once daily at the shooting range, surrounding the constructed structure.