The exhibition explores the concept of ‘work’ in an expanded sense of the word, and how the concept structures much of contemporary experience and identity.
The exhibition installation consists of a theatrical environment inhabited by three costumed and masked ‘characters’ – each representing a different kind of work; Nesting (whose mask is a bird box) represents ‘emotional labour’, Watering (whose mask is a watering can) represents vocational labour, and Picturing (whose mask is an enlarged pinhole camera) embodies the labour involved in cultivating self-image.
A short script has been written for each of the three sculpture ‘characters’, exploring the psychological and emotional effects of undertaking the different kind of work each character embodies. A recording of the scripts spoken aloud plays over a hidden speaker in the exhibition space, which is synchronised with three spotlights that illuminate each of the sculptures in turn as their part of the script is read aloud. This repeats as a constant cycle in the exhibition space.
In addition to the above, several props-like found objects – including a dead tree, a rake, and the roots of dead plants and wall painted elements (which feature in the exhibition’s script) also form part of the exhibition installation.