Élie Bolard is interested in all types of contemporary technology, questioning their functioning and the monopoly of technical knowledge with humor, playfulness and derision. Most of his work is presented in sculptural or installation form. He mixes clumsy DIY with industrial language, appropriating the techniques of metal, electronics and digital fabrication. He sets up autonomous machines creating their own atmosphere, which visitors are invited to explore.

Locked inside the boxes, (ex-)Amazon workers talk about their experiences at the company and what led them to be locked inside their boxes.

WER4, 2024

WER4 is a fictitious warehouse made up exclusively of these so-called intelligent boxes. As the company is already adept at automation technology, workers are forced to submit to the rhythm of the machine. In this warehouse, those who have not kept up with the pace find themselves welded to the machine and their smart parcels.

WER4 proposes to rethink our relationship with consumption in the age of e-commerce. The fault lies not with consumers or employees, but with the systems that enable the deployment of these controversial technologies, which proletarianize the entire chain, from production to purchase. The installation places the human at the center of a company that aims to overshadow its workers, insofar as the company imagines itself operating entirely robotized and automated in a few years’ time.

This installation is the result of a collaboration with Marcelline Chauveau and William Delgrande.