Blacklist

Lucy Parker

15 November – 6 December 2015
Fri–Sun, 12—5pm or by appointment

Artist Filmmaker Lucy Parker is in residence at Rhubaba to reflect on her year-long research into the experiences of blacklisted construction workers and to work towards the production of a film.The residency will culminate in a presentation of her research, including filmed discussions with blacklisted workers, constructed scenes and reference material.

Between 1993 and 2009, the UK based Consulting Association compiled a list of workers and activists who they viewed as a potential threat to the construction industry. Individuals were placed on the blacklist by employers for speaking out about safety conditions on site, being trade union members or working as activists.The blacklist was accessible to construction firms who could purchase the information before deciding whether to employ workers. When the list was uncovered in 2009, 3200 individuals’ files were found.

Lucy Parker’s research explores broader themes of privacy and exclusion, looking at the blacklist as a strategy to exclude potential ‘troublemakers’; its relationship to historical methods of excluding individuals from society under the name of state/ economic security; and how individuals who express their interests or beliefs, risk information being accessed and distributed to their detriment.

Press:
Read Neil Cooper’s article Back to Black in Product
Read a review of Blacklist in The Skinny