This project has been conceived during the residency at Hotel Maria Kapel.

"In times of an almost complete collapse of the boundaries between work private life, socialising and time to enjoy, Fernandes’ project offers a possibility to reflect on the connections between work, our bodies and the systems that connect them.

What is the connection between rollerblading and modernism? Or the link between paddle pools and capitalism? Between tanning and productivity? In her ongoing work LABOUR SERIES Priscila Fernandes humorously explores the relationships between leisure, work and abstract art. In a series of staged situations, the artist uses her body as a tool to create large scale photographs that build correlations between play, idleness, abstract art and hard work.

Without work, there would be no leisure. Indeed, the economy of leisure only came into being with the first paid holidays in the early 20th century. Campsites and resorts sprang up across the world and consumers were introduced to exciting new leisure items: inflatable plastic animals, swimwear and designer beach towels. Seaside holidays are the carrot at the end of a long work year and a tanned body the sign of a vacation well spent.

With Fernandes’ project Happier Than a Seagull With a French Fry, the artist covers the floors of the Maria Kapel with large sheets of coloured fabrics soaked in sun dye paint, transforming the centuries-old chapel into a large sunbathing studio. Fernandes makes use of UV lights and the sun’s heat to fade the fabric and make prints of her sunbathing body. The process was open to the public at several moments in June 2020."