Labour for the horizon
xpace, Toronto
February 2015

Videolink

labour for the horizon proposes an exchange that materializes a form of labour, which is generally rendered invisible—emotional labour. This form of labour has no material out put or easily quantifiable product, nor is it financially compensated (except in the professional context of therapy/counseling), and yet, it enables the functioning of so many bodies and their participation in a capitalist system. Like so many other forms of labour characterized as feminine, emotional labour is proportionally shouldered by women and feminine people. It is undervalued, and often unrecognized as labour. This project proposes another view of this intimate labour.

This project invites people to exchange one hour of their labour (in the form of their choosing) for one hour of the artist’s emotional labour. Participants can choose to have a conversation with the artist about one of the following things:

1. Family
2. Love/heartbreak
3. Intersections of identity
4. Mental/physical health
After each conversation the artist creates a visual response, which then populate the installation.

labour for the Horizon was originally presented at xpace gallery in Toronto, in Fabruary 2015 as part of the exhibition Relief Support, which considered the “collective support of workers as a means of resistance”.