Home Economics

Margaret Salmon, Franki Raffles

Billiard Room
The Pearce Institute, Glasgow
Glasgow International

11 – 27 June 2021
Open Daily 11am – 5pm
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Curator – Kirsteen Macdonald

Chapter Thirteen presents an exhibition that focuses a close lens on women at work in Govan, before and during COVID-19. Home Economics draws attention to feminist economic theory, considering the gender disparities in waged and unpaid labour that underpins society. The exhibition includes photographs by Franki Raffles from 1989, archival material related to women working in local shipyards and Surplus, a new project by Margaret Salmon that generates – in the artist’s words – ‘an emotive, intuitive discussion of value, production and hope’ with the audience. 

Produced over the last two years, Surplus is a presentation of objects, photographs and a 35mm film, Icarus (after Amelia), that reflects on narratives of gender, race, class and labour in contemporary Britain. The film has been produced through a long process of conversation, observation and creative collaboration with people including musician Tracyanne Campbell, Donna Maciocia, Professor Sara Cantillon, writer Maria Fusco and workers from local businesses and social enterprises including Govan HELP, Morris & Spottiswood and Starter Packs Glasgow. Icarus (after Amelia) is presented alongside photographic prints and object phrases with which Salmon expands this gendered labour study into a realm of statements, poetics or puns.

These are accompanied by a presentation of prints by feminist social documentary photographer Franki Raffles (1955 - 94), which are part of Raffles’ extensive two decades-long study of women at work in Scotland and throughout the world. The images in Home Economics document women in and around Govan working in factories, offices, schools and local community settings, highlighting the changing working practices and training initiatives that transitioned cities in the UK from industrial to service-based economies. These particular images were taken in 1988-89 and preceded Raffles’ solo exhibition, Women Workers, which featured photographs from the USSR and was held at The Pearce Institute as part of the European City of Culture programme in 1990, after which it toured to Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Weaving a long, historical trajectory of women’s work that has been under-represented, ignored or rendered invisible, the exhibition includes additional archival material that offers a means to analyse contemporary life through the lens of feminist theory, taking account of both the exhibition’s location and current conditions of social crisis.

Part of Glasgow International Across the City Programme. With thanks to University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums and University of Glasgow Library.