SITUATIONS WANTED
─ Applying for a Job in the Underground Economy

“Finnish girl with advanced English is looking for a job in housekeeping, catering, floor staff and as a job assistant”

2010
Media art project
Blog: www.situationswanted.wordpress.com
Guide book (700 pcs, 16 pgs, A5, B&W)

‘SITUATIONS WANTED’ is an on-going art project, creative research and re-enactment around the subject of the black market economy, job hunting and how to succeed. It addresses issues of rising unemployment, social unrest and proposes real and playful strategies to overcome this situation. Situations Wanted – Applying for a Job in the Underground Economy is a project about the black market employment and how to find it using media.

“I will use gallery as a job hunting office and an agency, where visitors can find out, how the process is developing - will I find a job and of what kind? I am looking for a job in the city during the project using the gallery space as my job hunting office, where visitors can come and see, how the process is de¬veloping. I came with the idea, when I was looking for a job last in Ireland. I was living in Limerick and I put an ad for a local paper that “Finnish girl is looking for a job...” I got all kinds of dirty messages and black market people were constantly contacting me with jobs that I wasn’t looking for at all. All this happened again at July 2010 in Belfast, when I did it as an art project.”

‘Situations Wanted’ highlights the underground economy of different cities. It tells the story of hidden employment market and interacts with the people in the street to make them aware about their local situations about the black market and people, who are prepared to exploit a foreign girl for money. At the moment there is so much problems finding a job in every welfare country. Is the black market the only place to be working on a time of recession? Since it is so hard to find a job nowadays, will the black market become a forced option? Are there only jobs available in the black market?

The Project in Belfast 5−25.7.2010
“I had the exhibition in PS2 (Paragon Studios / Project Space) for 3 weeks 5-25.7.2010. I made the gallery looked like a black market jobseeker’s office. I got 23 job offers and 90 text messages all together after putting an ad “Finnish girl is looking for a job...” in the classifieds section of the local newspapers and in the Internet sites. Most of the callers were offering me a black market jobs like a masseuse, escort – services, a sexy bartender, a hot housekeeper and a stag night hostess. I was writing a blog about the process everyday during the project, where I told about the calls and people that visit the gallery. You can read the blog from: www.situationswanted.wordpress.com

PS2 in Belfast
Invitation card

Belfast Telegraph
The Irish News