Interview by Anne Bambynek and Kristof Neyens
Christine Labban
Where did you get the inspiration for this project?
I always wanted to do a project combined with video game graphics and I thought since this workshop was about humour it would definitely work.
How do you start to make an object of art? Does the medium influence you?
Usually the medium comes after the idea, but in this case I knew it had to be simple screenshots I’d taken of the game. All I needed was a humorous twist of using this game. It’s called World of Warcraft and it’s a pretty serious game, including a lot of fighting monsters, levelling up, and mainly becoming the best warrior you can be. So in order to make it humorous I had to break the stereotype of this game (and most games) and show a story of a warrior that’s unemployed, hence the title “The Unemployed Warrior”.
What is humour for you?
Humour to me I guess is breaking the norm in an absurd and unusual manner. It could be about anything and in any context, social or otherwise.
What does humour mean to you? – How is humour present in your artwork or why isn’t it?
I believe the humour shows in the unusual behaviour of the warrior in the images, drinking, sleeping, doing nothing basically. It does end with a tragedy though, which could also be seen as a sort of dramatic comedy. It might not be the most obvious type of humour but the best kind of humour is the one that’s not too obvious. You walk away from it and then it registers in your head and gives the viewer a chuckle.
Can humour and art be combined?
Yes of course they can. Art and mainly contemporary art is thinking outside the box and at times breaking the norm of society and culture. Humour plays a similar role. If art uses humour as a tool it can result in something pretty effective and might make you change the way you think about pre-existing norms.
Does recent technology influence you? E.g. computergames/social media/selfies/…
Yes and I don’t see it as recent technology only, it’s the world we live in and items we use everyday. It’s very fun to play around and see what you can do with video games for example, to combine two worlds together such as art and gaming widens the type of audience.
Why did you choose this ideal place?
I needed a corner or some sort of walking path so people could read it as a story while walking around. Even if it wasn’t clear where to start reading, the ending was the warrior throwing herself off a cliff and everyone knows that characters in games can “relive” again after dying. So you could see it as starting from anywhere.
What did you think about the project/assignment?
I thought it was very fun, especially working on last minute projects all together as a class. The physical work was enjoyable and even though it was a short period of time, I learned a lot about using humour in art. It’s something I never thought about and never did before, but now I think I will definitely have an inclination to start a humorous project of some sort.
photography performing humour 