Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed”

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed”
Performance, video, 22 min
October 24, 2026, Rue de Seine, Paris

A performance carried out in conjunction with the open studio at POUSH. While an installation using stress balls was on view in the studio, I went out into Paris, in the midst of a large-scale strike and protest march, and kept wiping the wall where Guy Debord once scrawled “Ne travaillez jamais” (Never work). Written in 1953, the phrase later spread as a slogan of May 1968.

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist wiping the stone wall with an orange cloth in the rain, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist keeps wiping the wall as passersby with umbrellas walk by, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist, seen from behind, wiping a high part of the wall with an orange cloth, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist wiping the wall as a passerby with a blue umbrella walks past, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist, hood down, stretching an arm to wipe the upper part of the wall, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist leaning against the wall while wiping it with a cloth, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist bending over and wiping while walking along the wall, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist keeps wiping the wall as two passersby walk by, Rue de Seine, Paris

Demonstration for becoming a “professional unemployed” – the artist bending at the waist, one arm outstretched, wiping the wall, Rue de Seine, Paris

Graffiti “Ne travaillez jamais” written by Guy Debord on a wall on Rue de Seine, Paris, 1953 — Guy Debord, “Ne travaillez jamais,” Rue de Seine, Paris, 1953

Video still from Marianne Heier’s Jamais-toujours – a man writing “TRAVAILLONS TOUJOURS” on the same wall — Marianne Heier, *Jamais-toujours*, 2009 (video still)