The Fourth Industrial Revolution represented in a group exhibition in Rubiera, Italy

From Nov. 17 to Dec. 22, the group exhibition JOBS opens in Rubiera, in the province of Reggio Emilia. Forms and Spaces of Work in the Time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, curated by Linea di Confine for Contemporary Photography.

In the 1990s, with the first effects of globalization processes on the Italian economy, the theme of deindustrialization entered the attention of the media and the debate on the industrial city led by architects, urban planners and labor sociologists. However, labor issues have long remained in the background of a general transformation of the economy and society, to the point that the media, literature, cinema and photography have dealt with them only marginally, as one of the many effects produced on a large scale by globalization.

In the wake of recent economic crises, the issue of unemployment and the transformation of work, including in relation to the digital revolution, has had political and social repercussions, with a sudden acceleration in the last decade. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by a strong drive toward automation, labor seems to have become invisible in the flows governed by algorithms, but in reality it has taken on new forms in relation to technology and territory, the latter becoming a veritable “open-air factory.” Contemporary photography has been concerned in recent decades to emphasize the immaterial aspect of work and the abstract dimension of production processes and new technologies, but perhaps it lacks a more in-depth and timely vision of the new forms of work and spaces of production.

Linea di Confine’s research project, therefore, aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the forms and spaces assumed by labor in these last decades, through an exhibition, a study day open to the public and an under-35 photography competition. The three initiatives are interrelated and are proposed to the public and participants in the work of the study day as a workshop open to discussion and confrontation on the theme of work in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, the outcomes of which may be useful in the preparation of future investigations in the area.

The group exhibition will open on Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 1 p.m. at theOspitale di Rubiera (Reggio Emilia), with works recently produced on the theme by authors and collectives such as Michele Borzoni of TerraProject, with the series Workforce, where the “workforce” is analyzed in various labor contexts, fromIcommerce, to call centers, to the engagement of cheap labor in seasonal agricultural work (2017), Allegra Martin with the series I luoghi e i lavori 4. 0 (2017), a project curated by the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, made in collaboration with the Fondazione Mast in Bologna, Andrea Paco Mariani, of the SMK VideoFactory collective, with the video The Harvest, (2017, pictured) made in the countryside ofAgro Pontino, where cheap Indian labor is employed in agricultural work.cheap Indian laborers; by William Guerrieri with the series Bodies of Work (2018), an investigation of labor and the body, in relation to technology, at Saipem in Marghera and in the areas surrounding Fincantieri, made for the City of Venice; by Andrea Simi with the series Poimec, made on a small company located in the Technopolo of Moncalieri, in Piedmont, which operates mainly in international markets (2019).

In addition to these works, photographs from Linea di Confine’s collection will be exhibited, such as Olivo Barberi ’s Ferrari’s Factory series made in 2003 and Paola De Pietri’s Seccoumidofuoco series made in 2013 in the ceramic district of Fiorano Modenese, some photographs from the 1990s in dialogue with each other, both in terms of content and formal aspects, by Stephen Shore (from the series Luzzara, 1993) and Guido Guidi (from the series Lestans, 1998, from a private collection), depicting workers at work on machine tools.

Finally, the outcomes of the Under 35 photography competition, (more information on the website) will be displayed in the context of the exhibition, which will feature the research of at least 10 young authors on the themes of the event.

Also on Saturday, November 16, 2019, a Study Day will be held concurrently with the opening of the exhibitions, with greetings by Laura Moro(IBC Emilia-Romagna Region) and the participation of sociologist Aldo Bonomi, theurban planner Stefano Munarin, writer Gianfranco Bettin, architect Claudio De Gennaro, photography historian Antonello Frongia, photographers Jorge Ribalta(Spain), Olivo Barbieri, Michele Borzoni, William Guerrieri, Andrea Pertoldeo, and Andrea Simi, and director Andrea Paco Mariani. This study day will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Participation with free registration by Nov. 15 via email.

For all information you can email info@lineadiconfine.org or visit the official Linea di Confine website.

Source: release

The Fourth Industrial Revolution represented in a group exhibition in Rubiera, Italy

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