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RIP Vivaldi On Hold/Is It A Minute Or A Second? is an installation where two phones play looping soundtracks. One features a snippet of Vivaldi’s Spring, which was the hold music for the Department for Work and Pensions from 2006-2020. This music was described by many as ‘so loud it crackled’ and anxiety-inducing. It was changed in favour of a series of ‘more calming’ beats. 

The second phone plays questions asked in a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face assessment. The questions are intrusive and, at times, slightly absurd, attempting to quantify mundane physical activity like the time it takes to get from the front door to a car: is it a minute or a second? Quantifying disability in this way - and translating this further into points on a scoresheet - seems nonsensical. The listener can pick up the handset, but cannot reply, generating a frustrating experience not so different from that of a real PIP assessment.

BSL

Audio description