about workers interrupted

This body of work entitled Worker Interrupted is primarily a photographic study of the aesthetic of the ordinary and the everyday that references the strong relationship between work and identity. The body of work hints at the cost to self-identity resulting from job loss in light of the massive job losses caused by the current economic crisis.

At the most fundamental level, work is a means by which we earn money we use to provide for our basic needs such as food and shelter. If we are fortunate enough to have a job that provides a decent income it also provides us with the means to enjoy the luxuries of life. On a non-material level, work provides us with a sense of purpose or a mission in life. Through work, our days are structured and given purpose. It is often at work that we form meaningful relationships. Our work also provides us with a sense of worth and status. The more specialized or highly paid our profession, the greater the status it affords us. When we meet someone new the first question asked is 'What do you do?' We don't ask 'What political party do you support?' or 'What are your religious beliefs?' or even 'What are you passionate about?' Our pre-conceived notions and biases regarding their chosen profession, rightly or wrongly, influences our definition of others. The work that we do determines a significant part of our identity.

Worker Interrupted references this notion that work influences one's identity. Workers were chosen for this series of environmental portraits on the basis that the work they do alters their identity in a physical way. Physical appearance of workers can be altered subtly over time as muscles are developed due to physical labour. On a superficial level, this alteration can also be in the form of clothing or bodies becoming soiled due to the nature of the work. A worker's appearance or identity can also be altered by donning working gear such as goggles, earmuffs, aprons or helmets to perform their job. The worker's physical appearance can be regarded as a metaphor for an individual's sense of self identity while their altered physical state (i.e. their soiled clothes, altered muscle shape or working gear) is a metaphor for how work influences that sense of self identity.

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