Artists and Thinkers Explore Illness as Political Resistance in Contemporary Capitalism

A 2018 ArtReview feature examines how sickness is framed as a form of labor sabotage against capitalism, citing a UK Office for National Statistics report that sickness absences halved from 1993 to 2017. Korean-American artist Johanna Hedva's 2016 'Sick Woman Theory' argues illness is an identity for those denied privilege, while artist Ed Atkins grapples with speaking from a position of white, middle-class male privilege. The late Mark Fisher linked collective depression to austerity as a class war, and Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's 2018 book '12 Rules for Life' promotes self-improvement, criticized by some as right-wing apologia. Thinker Franco 'Bifo' Berardi ties mental health crises and drug use to political conditions, noting opioid epidemics in Trump-voting U.S. regions. Artist Oreet Ashery's 2016 work 'Revisiting Genesis' explores digital legacy and illness, contrasting with Damien Hirst's pharmacophilia. The article critiques neoliberal self-care industries and calls for a collective artistic approach to health that avoids identity reduction.