Materials: Two-channel video, film set 

In the summer of 2024, Ting Tong Chang spent the better part of a week exploring Pittsburgh, during which time he learned of the pivotal role the region played in the history of organized labor. He was particularly struck by the 1892 Homestead Strike — a violent confrontation between workers and Henry Clay Frick’s Pinkerton agents – and the extreme power imbalances it highlighted. Drawing inspiration from these events, as well as from the Mattress Factory’s own layered history of industrial and cultural production, the Taiwanese-born artist worked alongside local filmmakers Alex Abrahams and Benny Shaffer to create a story that would weave these threads together. The resulting work is a murder mystery film set in a fictional macaroni factory, where the factory owner is found dead and each character carries their own potential motives and suspicions. 

This film noir–inspired work began as a three-act play. Here it becomes juxtaposed with a documentary style “making of” film. It is both a film and a film about the making of that film.  

This cinematic device is further complicated by the casting of museum staff as the film’s actors. What emerges is not just a behind-the-scenes look into the creative process but an intimate portrait of daily museum life. Alongside cast rehearsals and set building, we see staff using the copy machine, greeting visitors, and cracking jokes at a morning meeting. The result is a twisting metanarrative that dissolves the boundaries between art and labor, performance and production. Through its structure and story, The Hidden Shift invites viewers to grapple with complex questions surrounding capitalism, the meaning of work, and the precarity of the so-called ‘creative class.’ 

This blending of reality and fiction extends beyond the screen, unfolding further within the exhibition space. Here, visitors encounter remnants of the film set – hand painted backdrops, leftover props, and dramatic lighting. By positioning the audience within the physical traces of the film’s production, Chang creates a bodily experience that unsettles our sense of what is real and what is constructed. We find ourselves unwittingly stepping onto a stage that slowly reveals itself.  

At the climax of the film, the two juxtaposed narratives begin collapsing into each other. Staff are shown in costume walking through the museum. Fictional characters break the fourth wall. A boom mic operator slips into frame. This self-awareness and subtle humor is common in Chang’s work, where drama and satire merge, offering a lens to help us understand our complex past as we confront an uncertain future. 

Cast

The Anarchist: 
Anastassios Tzounopoulos, Visitor Experience Associate 

The Capitalist: 
Laurie Barnes, Director of Education + Community Engagement 

The Detective: 
Joe Praksti, Visitor Experience Manager 

The Secretary: 
Lizzie Ahlborn, Payroll + HR Manager 

The Union Leader: 
Kaya Cammerata, Visitor Experience Keyholder + Tour Guide 

The Factory Workers: 
Natalie Miczikus, Exhibitions Manager
Taylor Pate, Exhibition Installer 

Crew
Producer: Benny Shaffer
Director: Alex Abrahams
Assistant Director: Stephen Turselli 
Screenplay: Alex Abrahams. Ting Tong Chang, Yang Cheng Su
Director of Photography: Stefano Ceccarelli
Camera Operator: Davis Rohrer
Gaffer: Pat Francart
Production Sound Recordist and Mixer: Chris Bell
Costume Designer: Bunny Brand
Set Designer: Ting Tong Chang
Set Design and Build: Natalie Miczikus, Taylor Pate, Bailey Lundmark
Art Director: Lucas Fauble
Makeup Artists: Ali Fleeman, Avery Ferrell, Hannah Reynolds
Script Supervisor: Alyssa Pearson
Documentary Camera Operator and Sound Recordist: David Bernabo / Bright Archives
Sound Design and Mixing: Ryan Stewart
Editors: Ahmed Ragheb, Lily Ekimian Ragheb
Colorists: Kory Pitkavish, Dan Duthie 
TTC Studios Managers: Judy Lee, Rylee Cheng 

Musical performance by Pittsburgh Labor Choir members:
Deyo Bucay, Maren Cooke, Jonathan Falk, Zach Frenchek, Regina Hendley, Tom Hoffman, Allie Petonic, Johanne Rokholt, Kira Yeversky.
Made with additional support from the National Culture and Arts Foundation of Taiwan, Taipei City Government, Contemporary Craft, and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.
Costumes and props provided by Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh.

Text by Danny Bracken

 Ting Tong Chang (b.1982, Taipei) is an artist who lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Starting his early career as a street artist, Bbrother, Chang's politically charged works had repeatedly become the focus of media attention and public debate. After completing his MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2011, Chang transitioned towards contemporary art. His satirical gaze leaves no aspect of society untouched. Revelling in the absurd and illogical, he makes a mockery of socio-political subjects ranging from the social and ecological effects of consumerism to the functioning of the art world itself. Working across the distinct practices of immersive installation, video and theatre, his transgressive practice co-opts science, technology and history to dissect the world around him.

Chang has exhibited internationally. He held solo exhibitions at the Museum of NTUE(TW) and Taipei Fine Arts Museum(TW) and has participated in group shows and commissioned projects in Guangzhou Triennial(CN), Taipei Biennial(TW), Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media(JP), Compton Verney Art Gallery(UK) and Wellcome Trust(UK). Chang’s major awards include the Taishin Arts Award(TW), Taipei Art Award(TW), Art Central RISE Award(HK), VIA Arts Prize(UK), and Gilbert Bayes Award(UK). His works can be found in the Taipei Fine Arts Museum(TW), Hong Foundation(TW), Aura Contemporary Art Foundation(JP), Hertzog Da Silva Collection(ES) and private collections in Europe and Asia.

張碩尹1982年出生於台北，現工作與居住於台灣台北與西班牙聖地亞哥德孔波斯特拉。張碩尹早期以塗鴉藝術家Bbrother為名創作，其充滿政治意識的模板大量出現在台北街頭，並數度為媒體焦點與話題人物。2011年自倫敦大學金匠學院藝術碩士畢業後，其詼諧反諷的創作語彙擴及社會政治議題、自然生態與當代生活的各種層面，其合作計畫統合科技、科學與歷史等不同知識領域，媒材跨及大型裝置、錄像、與劇場。

他的近期個展於北師美術館、台北市立美術館舉行；並參與台北雙年展（台灣）、廣州三年展（中國）、山口情報藝術中心（日本）、 康普頓弗尼美術館（英國）、惠康基金會（英國）之群展與委託案．近期獲獎包括台新藝術獎（台灣）、台北美術獎（台灣）、Art Central新晉菁英大獎（香港）、伊比利美術獎（英國）、吉爾伯特·貝葉斯獎（英國）。作品受台北市立美術館（台灣）、洪建全基金會（台灣）、アウラ現代藝術振興財団（日本）、赫爾佐格·達席爾瓦基金會（西班牙），與亞洲歐洲私人收藏．

This exhibition is made possible by Teiger Foundation.