Sweat (2018) by Candice Breitz sees the artist collaborate closely with ten members of a community of Cape Town-based sex workers, who each offer a series of anecdotes and insights into their lives and labour.
All ten individuals are activists affiliated with SWEAT (the Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce). Their statements—each of which is ten- tweets-long in duration—are drawn from a series of longer interviews. Shown for the first time as an immersive 10-channel video installation at FACT, the resulting cacophony of voices addresses the rampant gender-based and racist violence that sex workers face on a daily basis. Sweat (2018) addresses the lack of legal protections within the sex work industry, insisting on the necessity of extending human rights and labour rights to sex workers.
The work features the voices of Zoe Black, Connie, Duduzile Dlamini, Emmah, Gabbi, Regina High, Jenny, Jowi, Tenderlove and Nosipho ‘Provocative’ Vidima.
