Welcome to the 10th issue of the Immaterial Labour Union zine, which will also be the last one under such name. In order not only to mark this occasion, but also to justify the name change, we will be looking at the often hidden layers behind the term “Immateriality”. Thus, and as we wrote in our call for submissions, this issue will hopefully serve as a bridge towards the renaming of the project into an alternative that doesn't erase the material realities of media and so-called immaterial labour. With that in mind, on her submission for this issue, co-editor and founder Lídia Pereira attempts a proposal for the new name , as well as provides a background for the origin of the previous name, reviewing its problems and inadequacies.
BrowserBased Group’s contribution explores how older network infrastructures become platforms for urban communication and are characterized by a jump out of their expected use.
Niek Hilkmann’s allegorical tale confronts us with the sustenance of the physical body of the “immaterial” producer, whose crippled state (a consequence of his endeavours to stay alive) ultimately allows him to flourish as an artist.
Marloes de Valk’s article explores our self-documentation excesses within the context of digital economy, underlining the hidden physical nature of apparently immaterial data and the destructive consequences it poses for health, safety and the environment.
Contributions by:
BrowserBased Group, Lídia Pereira, Marloes de Valk, Niek Hilkmann, Simone Cassiani
All contributions to the zine, unless otherwise specified, are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.31.
The scale on this issue's cover is based off a design by joyzine2.
1: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.en.html
2: https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/128341-lady-justice-free-vector-pack-vol-2