Workforce

This is an exhibition of photographs and text by Andrew Bethall, which tries to show what life is like for those who are about to leave school and join the ‘national workforce’. It is more than just a collection of words and pictures. “Workforce” is about a project which questions the way photography represents people and the lives they live. The emphasis of the project is on participation and demystification. The project and the exhibition raise questions about the experience of school and how you represent it; who takes pictures and why?… who chooses and for what purpose… what do pictures mean and to whom?… The exhibition records part of the experience of the last year of schooling, finding a job and beginning work, and the issues raised. “Workforce” is intended to encourage others to ask the same questions by recording their own lives in the same way.

The exhibition consists of 20 laminated card panels (approx. 30 in x 20 in) and case. It should be of interest to educational, community or arts groups and is available from June 1980.