Work

An ongoing project, this series was photographed in India beginning in 2007 exploring the core activity of daily life—work. Capturing instants of hardship, burden, bu­reaucracy, boredom, humour and in-between moments are some of the manifestations of livelihood revealed in this series.

From office worker or security guard, to road builder or electronic waste recycler, the modern era sees a proliferation of work types and places, especially in the context of the rapid migration from rural to urban and the scale of the informal labour sector. This migration is also a catalyst for socie­tal change and the familiar global story of development where workers become more disconnected from the product of their labour. In addition, the idiosyncrasies of office paperwork stacked high and the proliferation of rubber stamps, the iconic symbol of bureaucracy contrast with the arduous labour of road building crews breaking rocks high in the Himalayas. This body of work is further expanded upon in the book Departures.