Andreia Alves De Oliveira The Politics of the Office

4 Dec 2014-18 Jan 2015

Overview

The office emerged in the nineteenth century alongside the development of photography. Yet despite the prevalence of the office in the visual realm – on screen, in print and in art – the documentation of actual offices has been generally limited to architectural photography and that commissioned for commercial purposes, or has focused instead on the representation of office workers. The Politics of the Office constitutes an unprecedented visual investigation into the space of the office, using photography both to examine the power relations enacted through this space, and to intervene in the power structures involved in its representation. Underpinned by a multidisciplinary study comprising the history of the modern office, management theory, organisational psychology, and office design, this extensive research project presents the office as a defining space of industrialised and service-based society, encapsulating power in its varied contemporary forms. It is also a rare opportunity to witness images of London offices largely inaccessible to the general public.