In the future will work be discernible from leisure?

London – The artist Lawrence Lek has explored the future workplace as a gamified environment.

The installation, Play Station, imagines a technology start-up 20 years from now. Commissioned for Art Night London at the Whitechapel gallery, the film imagines a future when work is disguised as a video game and therefore no longer an arduous task. ‘Who needs a work-life balance when it’s all so much fun?’ the voiceover asks participants.

The interactive work uses virtual reality headsets to introduce visitors to a post-work society. The narrative plays out in the White Chapel Building in 2037, which is now home to an imagined digital automation start-up, Farsight.

Users watched trailers encouraging them to outsource tasks as much as possible, rewarding the most successful with access to perks including entertainment credits and e-holidays.