A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work

2016
Installation view

Courtesy of Edel Assanti, London

A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work, part of The Return Project, examines the transformation of mass-produced consumer objects into unique artworks that critique the mechanisms of labor and surplus value within capitalist structures. The exhibition’s title, borrowed from the motto of the American Federation of Labor, underscores the tension between fair compensation and the profit extracted through undervalued labor in global markets.

Each piece begins with a commonplace item, chosen for its potential to illuminate the hidden layers of surplus value—the excess profit generated when labor is undervalued or exploited. Through minimal modifications, these objects highlight the disparities between their production cost and market value. A spool labeled “handcrafted in India,” for instance, is modified to reference colonial histories of labor exploitation, subtly underscoring how labor-intensive goods, made affordable through low wages, fuel consumer economies. By returning these altered items to retail shelves, the project disrupts typical cycles of exchange, introducing objects that carry unseen value as both art and artifact.

This exhibition invites a critical reflection on the valuation of labor embedded in everyday objects, encouraging viewers to reconsider the economic and social forces shaping the objects they consume. Through these interventions, A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work raises questions about worth, authenticity, and the hidden surplus value that underpins global commerce.