Alena Ledeneva
The System Made Me Do It, 2022
Assemblage, metal.
78.0 × 31.0 × 31.0 cm
This piece captures both the pressure of the System and the resistance to it. The pressure of the System is on the rise and so is the “gaming the System,” an informal act of individual protest against such pressure. Patterns of control go hand-in-hand with cooptation: a solid basis of perks and privileges endowed upon the conforming insiders. The ambivalence of the System - controlling but enabling, sticks and carrots - is at the core of its reproduction.
This piece captures both the pressure of the System and the resistance to it. The pressure of the System is on the rise and so is the “gaming the System,” an informal act of individual protest against such pressure. Patterns of control go hand-in-hand with cooptation: a solid basis of perks and privileges endowed upon the conforming insiders. The ambivalence of the System - controlling but enabling, sticks and carrots - is at the core of its reproduction.