The Hmm - The Cowan Paradox
Subscribe to a supermarket expedition at 13:00, 14:00 or 15:00 via this link:
Studio NDSM-plein 127, Kunststad, NDSM LOODS
The Hmm is a platform for internet cultures. We explore and celebrate what people do online, and critically reflect how this is impacted by the technology we use. Through events, online editorials, educational programmes and exhibitions, we provide a platform for artists who are breaking free from the manipulation prevalent online. During this year’s NDSM open we present the The Cowan Paradox & Other Inconveniences event by artist (and programmer at The Hmm) Sjef van Beers.
Within this project Sjef explores the relations between (domestic) labour, (automation) technology and the supermarket through the medium of the self-scanner. The Cowan Paradox, named after historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan, describes how time spent on housework had not decreased between 1870 and 1970, despite innovations in the household, such as the microwave or vacuum cleaner—the Industrial Revolution in the Home, as Cowan puts it.
With more and more labour being automated, how do we want to organise our lives? What do we even see as labour? And what role has the supermarket played in shaping our daily lives and living habits?
Throughout the day, Sjef will take small groups of people on an experimental supermarket expedition. We’ll head to a nearby Albert Heijn—on the Ms Van Riemsdijkweg—for a demo for the next stage of this research project. Here, we’ll try out an interactive narrative that runs on custom software on the self-scanners, a point-and-scan adventure, if you will. You’ll be one of the first people to try this, as Sjef is still developing this new chapter. Your experience as a test audience is very valuable.
Subscribe to a supermarket expedition at 13:00, 14:00 or 15:00 via this link:
Find out more about the program on the website of The Hmm: https://thehmm.nl/event/the-cowan-paradox-other-inconveniences/