GUEST

RESEARCH IMAGES OF WORKERS IN BOOKS & ARCHIVES – PART 2 Collective portraits

I was particularly struck by the formal portraits of teams of workers – looking at their expressions, and the order of who stands where – does this order reflect the hierarchical structures each work place has? (even in the open plan offices, which are meant to hint at some sort of flat power structure, I think in many cases just mask true neo-liberal capitalist motivations…)

Some time ago I found archival photographs of shop keepers in Hackney, and I like that they have a sense of the occasion, when workers have to stop working and come out of the workplace to be photographed.

The first 2 images are from a book written by Volvo’s then president, published in the 1970s. It being 70s the assertions in the book such as ‘women are equal members of team’ etc, show self-conscious assertions how women are equal and important, at the same time as the photographs of them at work looking lots more eroticised then men’s ones… (the images in the previous post).

The last image I took is from an exhibition of archive photographs in Novi Travnik – a place which holds interest for me due to family connections, and its factory built by Tito in socialist Yugoslavia in the 1950’s making weapons for export, mostly to Iraq and Kuwait. My grandfather worked there for a few years before moving to Germany as a migrant labourer or ‘guest worker’. It’s uncanny how it all connects… This image shows workers of the factory probably celebrating a state national day, gathered together under the sign ‘Zemlja se voli, onoliko i koliko se radi!’ The land is loved, as much as how hard its people work.’ In the socialist context the connection was highlighted between loving the country and working hard while in the capitalist it was the teams working together in a good and fair place of work, promoting fairness and hapiness though being part of a wholesome working ‘culture’. Both are promotional, the Volvo book more so as the photographs were taken particularly for that purpose…

The book was kindly lent to me by Peter Cressey, sociologist at the University of Bath, and we’ve had many intersting chats about ‘industrial relations turning into human reseources’, the language of ‘managing labour’ and the links between Universities and employment…

RESEARCH IMAGES OF WORKERS IN BOOKS PART 1

A collection of some of the research images from books on workers, industrial relations, labour, globalisation…

…on the way to work I noticed that a morning sun has melted frost on the grass, where the building opposite no longer cast its shadow.

the shadow moved by the sun.

I leave my shadow on the landscape… on the way to work…

CLOTHES FOR THE JOB

Today was 10^th day of my temporary job, though it feels like more time then that has passed. Maybe this sense of having been here longer is there because I have stretched it out to 3 days a week, and so this is my 4^th week. It has been an interesting process of being part-time away, as I still go back ‘home’ and have a chance to reflect on what has happened during the time at the University of Bath. These comings and goings have given me valuable spaces, so that I can emerge myself fully into the new environment and then pull back and re-group my thoughts, impressions…

I wear a specially made ‘workwear’ to my new job, which was sewn by my mother. I drew a quick sketch of how it would look then gave her the drawing, and from that she made a pattern and then the suit (in fact to my delight she made two identical ones). She runs a made-to-measure sewing business from her home in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and I have worked with her in the past on the projects Graduation Dresses http://www.margaretakern.com/projects/GraduationDr… and Radionica http://www.margaretakern.com/projects/radionica.htm.

The suit started off as a boiler worker suit, though my mother made it a lot more elegant, which has given it a more indeterminate look and I am pleased about that turn.

I have made my own logo and a label for the suit.

It is completely white, like a blank canvas.

In the morning, I put on my work suit, like it is a layer of me that I am pulling on.

The changes in me are subtle, I know that I am going to a particular place, and a specific actions will take place. I am going to work. I am going to be in public, seen and noticed more then I usually am. The whiteness of the suit in a strange sort of way makes it more noticeable.

I think of the ‘high vis’ jackets and how it in fact makes those workers even more invisible – remembering that wonderful project of Stephen Gill who photographed the workers http://www.stephengill.co.uk/portfolio/portfolio#id=album-30&num=content-674.

I go to lectures and sit in class with other students, who are dressed casually, though again even their clothes could be argued is uniformed on some level. We are all unformed from one point of view. But, some are more then others – and across the University those who are uniformed are: cleaners, caterers, security guards, lab technicians, builders, sports people and me (I might have missed some workers, so hope to expand my list!).

Whilst my new work uniform takes away the dilemma of what to wear in the morning, I am beginning to miss wearing colourful clothes (have noticed that in the time I am not at my ‘guest’ job, I tend to go all colours of the rainbow).

People look at me when I enter library, class rooms, coffee shops, I get looks which pretend not to be looks, quick glances, sideway glances, unable to locate me, curiosity about who I am, where did I just come from, what is my role here…

And in my new job I play many roles and in this performance I am highly visible, the environment observes me observing them. The looks are circular… and even placing each other into the categories is circular… In a way my blank sheet suit provides a more ambiguous space where it’s harder to pinpoint who I am, except that I am a GUEST.

My appearances in the suit though have been only one part of my performative action – I have spent a large amount of time speaking to people, engaging in interesting discussions, which I plan to include and reflect on here bit later on… It has been a rather complex intervention thus far, I am not entirely sure I can grasp all its meanings yet…

The suit, when not worn, hangs in the gallery space – when worn, the space where it hung casts a shadow with words stencilled in ‘the artist is at work’.