I made "Time Off Task" to capture a historic moment of labor organizing at Amazon: when workers at the first warehouse in New York City won a union vote with the Amazon Labor Union. I see my piece as a tool of propaganda and iconography, valorizing the working class and lifting up a clear political message about the triumph of good over evil in this victory.
My tapestry places contemporary events under the lens of class struggle. I drew direct inspiration from the ALU; from watching the victory of Chris Smalls and his Amazon warehouse coworkers. However, in my rug, I try to evoke a more general image of the Amazon worker. I want an imagined audience of working-class people to see themselves as the archetypal figures of laborers. I want them to find community in taking long bathroom breaks on the clock, whispering about working conditions, and standing on the picket line. The piece is about workers struggling against one particular oligarch, but it’s also about everyone who experiences this relationship to capital.