Annual Report Iconostasis

330 x 220 cm
2013-2015

The business world often seems to us as a faceless, technical process, or as an inevitable force of nature. And we take for granted that the human decisions made in business are based on facts and careful consideration.

In reality, the rationale and strategy of a business decision is often written after the fact, inserted as part of a larger event: “The Chinese market created instability in exports” – while in reality, it was the sales director’s fear of flying that was the cause.

In practice, the business world is driven by primitive motives, just as in the rest of life: fear of the unknown, peer pressure, narcissism, or appearances. “This just happened to be the loudest one this time.”

We think of white-collar work as information work, which is freed from the yoke of the body. In reality, the physical performativity of work hasn’t gone anywhere.

Professional competence is based on a number of aesthetic-physical impressions: we give presentations, product demonstrations, sales meetings, job interviews, development discussions and we kiss on the cheek at the beginning of a meeting – according to codified custom. Everyone plays this game. This common contract, and the belief in it, doesn’t improve with subversion: try going to a meeting in thickly knitted woolly trousers.

Business life is, above all, human and dogmatic. The protocols of the business world recall the markers of religious ceremonies – how do we create the illusion of trustworthiness? All money is someone’s debt: every euro, pound, kroner, rupee, dollar, or yen.

Artist Jaakko Veijola has been working on this theme over two years in different contexts. At the end of 2014, the manager of Aalto University Executive Education, Pekka Mattila, indicated an interest in the theme of iconostasis. This resulting work has been a year and a half in development, combining traditional handiwork with the latest digital technology.