The Office Stage
About
Inspired by my debilitating burnout, The Office Stage explores how difficult it can become to take a break and leave work behind. An engraved office desk, modelled after the polished messiness of stock photography, transforms the workplace into a stage set where the artefacts of social performance are already written into the environment.
A matching engraved tablecloth shifts the scene from work to after-work. Yet covering the desk never fully conceals it: the office remains exposed, suggesting how work continues to structure our moments of rest.
Carved into both surfaces are found instructions collected from online forums, offering advice on questions like “How do you pretend you are working?” and “How can I look busy at work?”
The installation was later activated through an improvised performance, developed into the video work Performance Review (2026).
Dimensions
Table 160cm × 80cm × 80cm
Tablecloth 240cm × 160cm
Materiality
laser engraved wood and fabric