Zoe Beloff: Emotions Go To Work

Emotions Go To Work is an investigation into how technology is used to turn our

feelings into valuable assets. One might call it the transformation of emotion

into capital. It asks what is at stake in our relationship with the companions

we call smart objects? What does the future hold in store for a world where

people are treated more and more like things, while the billions of gadgets

that make up the Internet of Things are increasingly anthropomorphized, granted

agency?

Spanning an arc of time from the 18th century to 21st century and beyond,

Emotions Go To Work traces the codification and instrumentalization emotional

data in ways both playful and serious. It considers the role emojis play our

mental life and their potential to evolve and grow monstrous. It suggests that

anthropomorphized technological creatures from early cartoons might inspire a

utopian society. Proposing that the first step to re-wiring our world is to

picture possibilities in games and in play, in dreams and in far-fetched

fictions, so that we can begin new conversations between people and things.

Hand printed 5 color Risograph artist book with two pullout pages, printed in a

limited edition of 200 copies.