Office is an ambitious short video, with a cast of over twenty performers that were shot against a blue screen and then inserted into a background generated by the use of a combination of video footage and still photographic imagery. Office is set in a life insurance compagy, and follows the everday rituals of this workspace where the ideology of security is paramount.
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"Aslizadeh has created a complex, momentous video work that blurs the line between the art venue and the cinema. Projected onto a 10-foot-wide screen in a darkened, comfortable room, Office first boasts a gripping (but difficult to grasp) narrative : An introductory paragraph informs us that the insurance company Western Life is on the cusp of merging with Southwestern, but is seriously considering dissolving their former competitor rather that associating with it. Throughout the video's 23 minutes, we're privy to elusive scenes of office romance, divorce, personal tragedy and professional competition. [...] A meticulous creation on all fronts, Office is a rich and resplendent musing on a thing that's essentially unbeautiful. The corporation is a plague on our working, social relations, on our ecological practices and on our political attitudes - but what good is there in crying about it? Making art is much more constructive."
TOUSIGNANT, Isa. "A day at the Office", Hour, October 20th, 2005 [http://www.hour.ca/visualarts/visualarts.aspx?iIDArticle=7462] (page consulted on January 12, 2011)
