When planning this exhibition about invisible labor and emotional labor, I hope that the exhibition space itself can be closely integrated with the theme, so that the audience can truly feel the existence of these laborers. Therefore, family space is a very suitable choice.
First of all, the family is where invisible labor is most concentrated. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, maintaining family relationships, these invisible labors happen almost every day, but are often ignored. If the exhibition is placed in the family space, the audience will be more likely to associate it with their daily lives, rather than treating these labors as an abstract concept. Compared with the unrealistic environment of the art museum, the family space can make people more intuitively realize that invisible labor is not something that belongs to a certain group, but something that almost everyone cannot do without in their lives.
Secondly, holding exhibitions in family spaces is also breaking the limitations of traditional exhibitions. Invisible labor is ignored partly because it rarely appears in public discussions, and exhibition spaces such as art museums and galleries usually focus more on tangible works of art, but it is difficult to carry this theme that is close to daily life truly. Suppose the exhibition is placed in the family space. In that case, the audience will not only “see” the exhibition, but directly enter the place where invisible labor occurs and feel the existence of this labor in person.
Finally, this is a low-cost and highly flexible exhibition method. Compared with traditional exhibition spaces, homes as exhibition venues do not require expensive rents, which can reduce curatorial costs. The exhibition layout is more flexible and can be adjusted according to the homeowner’s lifestyle. For example, the exhibition can be visited in a “walking” style, with different artworks displayed in each room, echoing the function of the home space.
Therefore, I finally chose to hold the exhibition in the home space. This not only allows the audience to think about the meaning of invisible labor in real-life scenes but also allows them to feel more directly how these laborers affect our daily lives and social relations.
