Robota (2018)
In ‘Robota’ Verena Blok follows the lives of two young migrant workers, from a Polish village where she used to spend the summers. While Blok films as the two brothers, whom she has known since childhood, paint houses, mix concrete, swim and prepare for a bachelor party, the three talk about issues such as immigration, sense of community and national identity. The brothers’ ideas are strongly influenced by the media, which propagate a white Polish identity, which provides the boys with a sense of pride and control. Blok combines their frank discriminatory remarks with idyllic landscapes, leading to acute contradictions.
With her film, Blok addresses Poland’s transformation from a Soviet satellite to a capitalist nation. She focuses in particular on how the body, once seen as an instrument for building the socialist state, is now used to obtain individual capital. The brothers’ proud demonstrations of physical strength contrast sharply with the vulnerable economic position of being self-employed. Moreover, their political convictions negate the cliché of the migrant worker as a victim of nationalism: they actively support the xenophobic policy of their government, a policy that restricts their own freedoms. As victims of prejudice, they are full of it themselves.
single-channel video and sound installation, 12:30 min
camera: Verena Blok | editing: Katarina Türler and Verena Blok | sound mix: Tom Bijnen | colour correction: Marco de Stefanis | made possible with the help of the Mondriaan Fund and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
