Mierle Laderman Ukeles

Maintenance Art Works 1969–1980

Marabouparken konsthall and Konsthall C are delighted to present the first exhibition of Mierle Laderman Ukeles in Sweden and a joint exhibition and events programme entitled From Her House including the work of Anna Sjödahl, Margaret Raspé and Joanna Lombard and a weekly film programme with expanded artistic examinations of the home, domestic (maintenance) work and the gendered division of labour.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles (born 1939 in Denver, USA) took a seminal position in early conceptual and feminist art. Her work looked to highlight otherwise overlooked aspects of social production and questions the hierarchies of different forms of work, especially of housework and low-wage labour. Her early work was experimental, and visually and symbolically conveyed her own personal expression and turmoil as well as the social unrest surrounding events, such as the women’s movement and the Vietnam War. Ukeles was trained in America in the 1960s, in an artistic climate which considered conceptual frameworks and the process of making art as important as the visual experience. Many works of Ukeles have originated in a performance, with the artist undertaking actions or tasks, which would then be documented through photography, text or film for presentation in a gallery setting. Other important influences for Ukeles were the political debates of civil rights activism and identity politics. In an atmosphere of departure, Ukeles and many other artists expanded their concerns towards the wider socio-political discussion, and engaged actively with real-world problems.

Ukeles early work displayed at Marabouparken konsthall show an array of projects that evolve from her own struggle at home. Born from the frustration that her responsibilities as a mother were seen as a distraction to her art work she sought to test the boundaries of art by seeing both these forms of work as the same. Here the value systems associated with domestic labour were brought into focus with the value systems attached to the white cube gallery. In both of these ‘spaces’ the labour of their maintenance, upkeep and care was to be invisible, cleaned away to leave only the smiling house wife or the art piece on the plinth. By challenging the socio-political landscape she herself was forced to negotiate, Ukeles found a way in which her personal struggle could find common ground with wider political battles.

The presentation of Ukeles’ work across Marabouparken konsthall and Konsthall C highlights her movement from the home to the realm of the public. Marabouparken konsthall will exhibit Ukeles’ early work reflecting on the seminal performances of cleaning actions within her home expanding a critique to the art institution. Konsthall C will present the later long-term project <em>Touch Sanitation</em> (1977–1980) a project involving Ukeles’ residency at the New York Department of Sanitation and a performance in which she dedicated herself to thank and shake hands with every Maintenance worker in New York City.