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Finding humor in everyday office struggles, Derrick Lin began creating thumbnail vignettes to visually express his frustrations. Using everyday materials, he films everything with his iPhone and posts these relatable scenes on Instagram. Now much of his work has been collected in his forthcoming book, Work, figuratively speaking.
Lin’s work follows the great tradition of artists working in miniature, but rather than focusing on relationships or political struggles, he decided to focus on where many of us spend the majority of our lives. time: the office. “About 3 years ago, I noticed that even though we are in the age of social media where almost anything can be shared, people generally avoid sharing their complaints about work,” Lin shares. “We spend a lot of our time at work, and naturally we have a lot of frustration from various sources.”
From a version by Edward Hopper nightjars done with crayons to someone – literally – “thrown under the bus”, Lin cleverly uses miniature figurines and office supplies to represent the struggles and victories of the workplace. Lin works in advertising, so it was only natural for him to slip into that visual field, injecting humor into sometimes difficult situations. The artist also finds the lighter side of life, reminding us to slow down and relax with his scenes of a figure jet skiing along a sheet of paper or enjoying an evening picnic. with friends. “My series is a constant reminder for me to always look on the bright side and look for the humor in the little setbacks and obstacles I encounter,” Lin says.
Derrick Lin’s book Work, figuratively speaking: the big and small victories of office life, edited by Rizzoli, is now available for pre-order.
Derrick Lin’s intelligent miniatures play on the struggles and triumphs of the workplace.
He started posting his work, created with office supplies and photographed with an iPhone, on Instagram in 2014.
What started as a creative outlet has now become an upcoming book published by Rizzoli.
“My series is a constant reminder for me to always look on the bright side and look for humor in the little setbacks and obstacles I encounter”
Derrick Lin: Instagram
h/t: [Creators, Colossal]
All images via Derrick Lin.
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