Workforce was a group exhibition curated by Lucas Ferguson-Sharp featuring new work by Jarsdell Solutions LTD, Samuel Barry, Siân Hutchings, Anthony Morgan and Joseph Shaw at The NewBridge Project: Gateshead.
The exhibition was the first part in a series of events that engage with contemporary labour issues. Workforce reacted to the changing landscape of labour, current trends away from equality and diversity in the workplace, as well as the impacts of employment on our identity and personal self-worth. Latent within the exhibition was each artist’s own relationship to work, their personal experiences as employees and how their practice fits within larger conversation about obstacles facing today’s workers.
Artists Samuel Barry and Siân Hutchings and duo Jarsdell Solutions LTD were commissioned to create artworks in response to current labour issues ranging from artificial intelligence/automation; work structures: Gig economy, independent work, fissured work; the stagnation of income, equality and diversity; and changes in workplace structures. These artworks were presented alongside a publication of texts on contemporary philosophies of labour edited by Anthony Morgan and a research space built in collaboration between Joseph Shaw and the curator.
As the first part in a series, the research space explored what questions are being raised in the exhibition by the institution, curator, artists and viewers about current labour trends by providing the public with the tools to creatively contribute and respond to the dialogue of the exhibition. These questions will be further examined in subsequent iterations.
View and download the Workforce publication “Our Daily Bread: Some Thoughts on Earning a Crust”