Kate Just, CONSTRUCTION / WORK
Seventh Gallery, 2025
CONSTRUCTION/WORK is an exhibition which marks the culmination of my 2025 artist residency with Women’s Art Register and Seventh Gallery in Richmond, Victoria.
For my residency and project, I was closely supported by Claudia Pharès and Merren Ricketson at W.A.R. and Lucie Loy at Seventh. I explored the W.A.R. archives and examined examples of political text across books, files, magazines and artworks. During my research, I came upon an advertisement for a significant group performance exhibition[1] Women at Work that was curated by Aleks Danko and Judy Annear at George Paton Gallery in 1980. The advertisement, designed by Danko, featured a hand drawn yellow and black sign with the bold text WOMEN AT WORK, riffing off ‘MEN AT WORK’ construction signs.
This image and text inspired my exhibition, which expands upon on the idea of construction work as a parallel metaphor for feminism - hands on, focussed on process, progress, and the active reshaping, reforming, and improving of social structures.
My installation at Seventh Gallery features a series of eight industrially produced construction and road safety signs inscribed with political messages. Large text-based hanging machine knitted blankets bear the repeated words ‘CONSTRUCTION’ and ‘WORK WORK WORK,’ referencing the ongoing work required of feminism and political activism. Two hand-knitted panels bearing the words ‘Women at Work’ and ‘Women’s Work’ play on stereotypical conceptions of gendered labour. A green and white sweater bearing the text KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY BODY spins in the space. Produced in 2022 in response to the overturning of Roe V. Wade, this garment makes its debut in this exhibition space and flags continuing human rights infringements by the US government.
Reflecting on the residency with W.A.R and Seventh, I reflected, ‘These are stifling and inhumane times. The show springboards from an image and exhibition in the archive, and seeks to highlight the ongoing active and constructive work artists and activists can do to reshape our social and political landscape.’
[1] Featuring artists Cath Cherry, Jane Kent, Vineta Langzdins, Anne Marsh, Jan Hunter, Bonita Ely, Ann Fogarty, Jill Orr, Liz Paterson, Joan Grounds, Jackie Lawes and Anne Paci.
All photographs are by Meg de Young.