Noel Bowler : Union

Thursday 6 April – Sunday 14 May 2017
Gallery of Photography, Dublin

Noel Bowler’s expansive project ‘Union’ looks at the spaces of organised labour. ‘Union’ explores the meeting rooms and back offices at the coalface of the ideological war between labour and capital that has shaped our lives since the industrial revolution.

Mostly unpeopled, these interior spaces are quietly revealing. Some organisations occupy the simplest of functional spaces, others confidently demonstrate their rootedness within the established order of things, their spaces echoing the board rooms of corporate power. There is lightness of touch, too. The ZNP Union of Polish Teachers will convene in what is, in every sense, a classroom, complete with blackboard; while at The Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington DC even the chairs huddle in conference.

“It’s heartening to spend time with Bowler’s quietly anchored work, to recognise the value and richness of all these sustained labours and understand that there are still sharp minds and strong hands ready to navigate difficult waters” – Ken Grant

Reception kindly supported by Teeling Whiskey

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