Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money
Valentin Woeffray
2020
Valentin Woeffray’s film project Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money uses internet archive footage and Google Earth 3D renderings to depict a fictional dystopian future. Developed under Donald Trump’s presidency, the project first focuses on aerial surveillance images of potential criminals, hinting at the power structures behind these imaging technologies. He then alternates phantomatic images of an empty New York city, and footage focussing on space travel. Between war, catastrophe and the prospect of the hyper-rich escaping from Earth, Woeffray investigates a somber moment in history, where the advertised future clashes with increasingly dark scenarios for humanity.
Text by Claus Gunti