katyaev anton
(ekaterina vasilyeva)

Exhibition view: Entretenir vaut mieux, New Space, Liege (Be), curated by Dorothée Duvivier

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" At New Space in Liege, Katya Ev brings an iteration of the performance Visitors of an Exhibition Space are Suggested to 'Do Nothing'  [...] dealing with the neoliberal codes and those of an institutional contemporary art event, holding the middle ground between a gallery space and the aesthetics of a start-up. Visitors, by signing a contract in which they committed to doing nothing for at least an hour, could sit in a comfortable chair made available for a minimum hourly wage (10.25 euros gross per hour), after which they received a paycheck. 'Initially it was a response to the pressure of surproduction, including artists. By having a contract and a paycheck, I make that this ends up in the national archives,' the artist said.

 

In Liege, the new version of the performance, now called Ne rien faire contre rémunération takes into account the working-class neighborhood, history of the exhibition venue - a former garage - and appeals to a different audience. The artist distributes in the city posters ans stickers saying 'Ne rien faire contre rémunération' (Do nothing for a fee) and a phone number. Katya Ev clarifies: "[...] It is about deconstructing the idea that 'doing nothing' is a waste of time, which is radically opposed here to the idea of otium advocated by ancient philosophy and then widely developed in Western thought: an aristocratic privilege obtained through the exploitation of others. Katya Ev: "By assigning a symbolic value - through a financial value - this performance offers someone time and space to be themselves. And that question of rental is a knot, it's all or nothing." Colette Dubois, 'Entretenir vaut mieux, Marc Buchy and Katya Ev', HART Magazine n°223 (Be)

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Applicable law & regulations: Belgian

Compensation rate: local minimum hourly wages each full hour of 'doing nothing' — €10,25 (upon the Collective labour agreement n° 43 of the National Labour Council). On Sundays and national holidays the compensation is 200% — €20,50

Hours available for 'doing nothing' : 200 hours

Visitors: 250

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Participants who signed the contract for 'doing nothing': 43

Shortest duration of 'doing nothing' : 1 hour

Longest duration of 'doing nothing': 6 hours

Paid hours : 56

Total duration of 'doing nothing' by all participants : 112 hours and 10 minutes

Breach(es) of the contract: 0

Who paid for 'doing nothing'?: Fédération Wallonie Bruxelless, Belgium

Who was the counter-party of the "contract"? Ekaterina Vasilyeva (administrative alter-ego of the artist)