6. Rendering Invisibilities
Year: 2021, Collaboration with Juan Arturo Garcia
Material: short film
Arguably the most controversial and shocking of bodily fluids, blood is what keeps us alive, binds us to each other, and what is shed for nations and causes. Not all blood is considered equal, and by great design and deflection, the huge amount of blood produced through the slaughterhouse industry is rendered invisible.
As part of the New Material Award fellowship he won in 2018, Basse collaborated with designer and filmmaker Juan Arturo Garcia on a short film which unpacks the industrial and small scale (cow) slaughterhouse industry. The slaughterhouse industry is one of the most resource-intensive and invisible industries of today. Design plays a significant role in this industry; by streamlining processes and increasing efficiency for ever greater profits. The tools and processes used during slaughter determine the value not only of meat, but also its by-products, such as cow blood.