Spam

2D Animation, 2021

“Spam” juxtaposes the ubiquitous format of food delivery apps with negatives of scenes from a slaughterhouse to explore how technology has facilitated imperialism, consumerism and commodification.

The photographs were taken by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration at Hormel Food Company's meat packing plant in Austin, Minnesota in 1941. Spam was introduced by Hormel Foods Co in the late 30s, and popularized through its use as a wartime staple. Later, it was the subject of the famous, 70s Monty Python sketch—which led to its use as a word to describe unsolicited emails.

Vectorized hog icon act as the frame for the negatives, which were scaled and repositioned so that the subjects (both man and carcass) balance the space in the limbs and snout. As the hogs move down the conveyor belt, audio plays from an interview recorded in an FSA Migratory Labor Camp in Yuba City, California in 1940.