CAD97012298, Fairchild Semiconductor Corp., San Jose, CA 2017

Editor: This photograph by Federica Armstrong, titled "CAD97012298, Fairchild Semiconductor Corp., San Jose, CA," depicts a worker collecting shopping carts in a parking lot. It feels very ordinary, yet the composition is striking. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The banality is precisely the point. Armstrong is capturing late-stage capitalism, the relentless cycle of labor in Silicon Valley. The title itself, a cryptic alphanumeric code, suggests dehumanization. Where is the human in all of this? Editor: So, the parking lot is not just a parking lot? Curator: No, it's a stage. The worker, framed against this backdrop of consumerism and technological advancement, becomes a symbol of exploited labor. It's a quiet indictment of the promises of progress. Editor: I never thought of it that way; it's a powerful message. Curator: Indeed. It's a reminder to look beyond the shiny facade and question the systems that shape our world.