Moderately Interested

silkscreen prints, 2020

Moderately Interested is a series of silk-screen prints with descriptions taken from the ‘interest test’ of the ‘Skills Health Check’ of the National Careers Service website. The National Career Service website is provided by the UK government to give advice and guidance in helping UK citizens in their decision making process of their careers, learning and finding new work.

The pattern in the background uses the graphics of the ‘abstract problem solving test’ which is a cognitive test that aims to determine one's capability of abstract reasoning and abstract problem solving. The phrase is the activity description from the ‘interest test’. The test consists of 84 questions with each one describing an activity and asking the test taker to state their level of interest from “not at all interested” to “extremely interested”.

I’m fascinated and worried about these aptitude, cognitive, personality tests that are used to determine one's skills, personality type, and understanding of the world. How has this selection of activities been made? What do they say about the current job market? How is the language and wording chosen?

Moderately Interested was produced during a residency with London Print Studio.