LABOUR OF YESTERDAY/OBSOLETE, 2026

10 Really Useful Boxes, Canal water (sanitised and unsanitised), Twine and Wood Handles

A Random Act at The Salford Quays

The regeneration of Salford Docks into the tall curtains of glass offices that now border the water was not seamless. The introduction of containerisation at larger ports such as Liverpool meant the narrow docks of Salford became obsolete, leading to their eventual closure in 1984. With this came the loss of jobs, along with the culture that had grown around dock labour. Labour of Yesterday / Obsolete, my intervention to work the waters again, was an attempt to restore balance, or at least to recognise what has been displaced.