“sure, why not?”
mixed media on upcycled wood frame artboard
46x42 in
a piece about revolutionizing work and the way we see it and go about finding work we care about when it feels like everything is changing. maybe it’s time to rethink it? what would it be like if we actually loved what we do for work so we’re not living for our next PTO? or not at the mercy of a senior leader somewhere that probably doesn’t know much about us and the work we do day in and day out? i feel like it was all just a false promise for a good life; the ‘american dream’ we’ve all been fed but lately, it feels more like a nightmare for the average worker in north america.
i started working two different jobs around the same time recently (one part time, one very casual) and neither are in my industry at all. but i kinda just jumped in and said “sure, why not?” because both seemed aligned with my values and like something i could do, would be good at, and would enjoy. i’ve never done anything like either of them and neither are what i “went to school for” but who cares? humility is key if we want to find the right opportunities for us; opportunities that might connect us to something later on.
this work is a juxtaposition between a reality check to modern times and offering something hopeful and optimistic for a better life where work actually might be fun so we don’t hate our lives every time we clock in.
800 CDN
available; please inquire
scroll to read about the process
the process:
the first layer had me writing out, by hand, most of the auto rejection emails I’ve received this year and then gluing them on quickly, messily, and with zero strategy. after you get so many rejection emails, they really all sound the same, even the ones where they seemed to try to sound original. if I don’t look at who sends these, I would have no idea. this is proof enough that the traditional way of working, hiring, and finding work is, to be frank, bullshit. this layer isn’t shown much in the final piece because i didn’t want it to be—the piece isn’t about this but this was just part of my process to getting here.
for the rest of it, I cut out specific parts of old books and magazines where the image or text caught my attention for this story and blended everything together with white/yellow paint as a symbol of optimism.
the connected dots all over tell the story of opportunities, the people you meet, and the things you learn that lead you from one to another with no way of knowing what things you do now might lead you somewhere else later.
watch a reel of the process here.
a story about some of the inspiration behind this work:
I love thrifting, love organizing stuff, and love arranging and setting things up to look more ~pleasing. I mean, this is one thing i’ve always loved about being a designer.
i have never been one to believe in “dream jobs” but when I got offered to work for an estate services company I said, “sure, why not?” and later that day I laughed as I said myself, “I get to get paid to declutter and organize stuff? sounds like a dream job.”
now, not only do i believe dream jobs can happen, but i think they are often where we least expect them to be——and there could be multiple opportunities out there that we can call dream jobs. we just gotta stay curious and keep our eyes open.