Home Exhibitions Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights

Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights visual story

Information to help you plan and prepare for your visit to the exhibition.

Easy-read visual story

Introduction to Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights

A photograph showing the entrance to our exhibition in Gallery 1, Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This exhibition is called ‘Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights’.

An exhibition is a collection of things to look at and learn about.

The imposing white edifice of a neoclassical 1930s building. Wellcome Collection building, Euston Road, London, UK.
Wellcome Collection building. © Wellcome Collection.

The exhibition is at Wellcome Collection.

A photograph of Gallery 1 lobby entrance
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The exhibition is in Gallery 1 on level 0 of our building.

Calendar icon displaying the date 19 September

The exhibition starts on 19 September 2024.

Calendar icon displaying the date 27 April.

The exhibition finishes on 27 April 2025.

A pound sign that is crossed out.

You do not have to pay to visit the exhibition.

2 tickets that are crossed out.

You do not need to book a ticket. Just turn up.

Visiting Wellcome Collection

For more information about:

  • opening times
  • accessibility
  • travel

click on this link: Visiting Wellcome Collection visual story.

About the exhibition

A photograph showing the entrance to our exhibition in Gallery 1, Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights’ is an exhibition about different kinds of work, and how work can affect our health. It tells stories about:

  • People who do the kind of work that we often do not notice or care about. For example, cleaners.
  • How some kinds of work can be unsafe or harmful for the people who do them.
  • How workers join together and take action to make these kinds of work safer.
  • The things people do to heal from this kind of work. Healing means to get better.
The view from the door into the exhibition
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The exhibition is in Gallery 1 on level 0.

What is in the exhibition

There are different things to look at and listen to in the exhibition. These include:

Photograph of a person looking at a sculpture in the exhibition
Still Waters, Charmaine Watkiss, 2023. Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.
  • objects
  • books
  • photographs
  • paintings and drawings
  • sculptures.
A photograph of three people sitting on chairs looking at a large film projection. The film show a satellite map with overlayed graphical information regarding pollution.
If toxic air is a monument to slavery, how do we take it down?, Forensic Architecture, 2021, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
  • films
A photo of a person sitting down watching a film with headphones on
Waste Superheroes, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) in collaboration with Creatura, 2023. Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.
  • sound works.
A circle with the letter I in the centre.

Some of the things in this exhibition talk about:

  • Enslavement. Enslavement is when people violently force other people to work for free. People who are forced to work for free are called enslaved people.
  • Abuse. Abuse is when a person, or people, harm another person or people.
  • Suicide. Suicide is when someone kills themselves.
  • Sex work. Sex work is being paid for sex.
Diptych. The photograph to the left shows a smiley visitor experience assistant wearing a black t-shirt with a white Wellcome Collection logo and a pink name badge. The photograph to the right features the same visitor experience assistant seen from the back. On the reverse of the t-shirt it says 'Ask me' in large white letters with straight yellow lines radiating outwards in a circle like a child's drawing of a sun.
Visitor Experience Assistant, Kevin Percival. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

If you need any help, you can speak to a member of our team.

Sensory information

Icon for no eating or drinking

You cannot eat or drink in the exhibition.

Breastfeeding icon.

But you can breastfeed or bottle-feed babies.

A photograph of two people talking to each other in front of a selection of photographs by artist Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq
Dark Garden, Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq, 2021- ongoing, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

People sometimes speak quietly at an exhibition. But you do not have to speak quietly.

The lights are not very bright in the exhibition.

A sound speaker.

There are works in the exhibition that have sound.

The first section of the exhibition is called ‘The Plantation’. In this section the artworks with sound are:

  • A film called ‘Environmental Racism in Death Alley, Louisiana’. It plays sound out loud. It lasts for 35 minutes. There is a bench where you can sit and watch this film.
  • A sound work called ‘Cooking food in prison’. It plays sound through headphones. It lasts for around 4 minutes.

The second section of the exhibition is called ‘The Street’. In this section there is:

  • A film called ‘Waste Superheroes’. It plays sound through headphones. It lasts for about 15 minutes.
  • An installation called ‘Money Makes the World Go Round’. An installation is a work with different types of art in it, like painting, sculpture, sound and film.

‘Money Makes the World Go Round’ has a film that plays sound out loud. The film lasts for around 5 minutes.

A sound speaker.
A headset.

The third section of the exhibition is called ‘The Home’.

In this section there is:

  • A work called ‘Reduce the Time Spent Holding’. It plays sound out loud. The sound lasts for about 8 minutes. You will hear words spoken, with sounds in the background.
  • A film called ‘Our Journey’. It plays sound through headphones and you can watch it on a screen. It lasts for about 16 minutes.
  • An installation called ‘Care Chains (Love Will Continue To Resonate)’.

This installation:

  • plays sound out loud. The sound will be playing from speakers all around the room
  • has a big table with speakers that vibrate. Vibrate means you can feel the beat of the sounds coming through the speakers
  • has flashing lights.

What is in the introduction

A photograph showing 'Gestures of Labour', a film by Adelita Husni Bey
Gestures of Labour, Adelita Husni Bey, 2009, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The first room is the introduction to the exhibition.

‘Gestures of Labour’ is a short film showing people doing different kinds of work with their hands. The film was made in Jakarta in Indonesia. Indonesia is in Southeast Asia.

The film lasts about 5 minutes and has no sound.

What is in section 1

A photograph showing the plantation section of the exhibition Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Section 1 is called ‘The Plantation’.

A plantation is a big area of land where things are grown, like:

  • coffee
  • tea
  • cotton.

Working on plantations is very hard. Some workers are exploited. Exploited means people don’t get paid for their work, or are paid very little.

Work on plantations still happens around the world today. Working on a plantation badly harms the workers’ health.

A photograph showing a picture taken by Marc Ferrez on display in 'The Plantation' section of Hard Graft. Next to it is the accompanying wall text
Slaves on a hillside coffee farm in the Paraíba Valley region, Marc Ferrez, c. 1882 / 2024, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

This photo is from around 1882. It shows enslaved people on a coffee plantation in Brazil.

The plantation owner used this photo to advertise his coffee around the world.

A photograph of a display of colour photographic prints, they are arranged in clusters and depict plantation workers in Bangladesh.
Dark Garden, Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq, 2021- ongoing, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

‘Dark Garden’ is a group of photographs of tea plantations in Bangladesh and some of the people who work on them.

The people in these photographs get paid around £1 a day for their work.

A photograph of 'Works by Charmaine Watkiss' in our exhibition, Hard Graft.
The Warrior's Way: Seeds for cultivating the timeless, The Warrior Builds Strength: From all who came before and The Warrior's Way: Honouring ancient traditions, Charmaine Watkiss, 2023 © Charmaine Watkiss. All rights reserved, DACS 2024, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Works by Charmaine Watkiss’ are drawings and a sculpture of women whose ancestors were born in Africa. An ancestor is a person in your family who lived in the past – like a great-grandparent.

These works show plants and fruits that help to heal people when they are ill.

A photograph of a painting called Umbanda by Maria Auxiliadora da Silva.
Umbanda, Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, 1968, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

‘Umbanda’ is a painting showing in a group of Afro-Brazilians sharing joy.

Afro-Brazilians are Brazilians who have African ancestors.

The painting is about Umbanda. Umbanda is a religion created by enslaved Afro-Brazilian people. Umbanda was created as part of enslaved people’s resistance on the plantations.

Resistance is when some people struggle against other people who are trying to control them. Through resistance, the enslaved people also shared feelings of joy and freedom together.

A photograph of 'Mosquito Shrine' on display in our exhibition, Hard Graft.
Mosquito Shrine, Vivian Cacurri, 2018. Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. © Vivian Cacurri.

‘Mosquito Shrine’ is a work about:

  • How humans affect where mosquitoes live. Mosquitoes are tiny flying insects. Mosquitoes travelled to Brazil on ships that carried enslaved people from Africa. 
  • How mosquitoes affect human health. Mosquitoes bite humans. These bites can spread diseases in humans. One disease spread by mosquitoes is yellow fever.

What is in section 2

A photograph of two people in an exhibition space looking at a large scale installation artwork. The artwork consists of the facade of a church with stained glass windows depicting sex workers and a pink neon sign of the of the words workers, workers, workers. In the background another person is watching a film screening and wearing headphones.
Money Makes the World Go Round, Lindsey Mendick, 2024 Commissioned by Wellcome Collection, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Section 2 is called ‘The Street’. It tells stories about:

  • people who work in the streets
  • how working in the streets can be unsafe, and harmful to your health
  • how street workers are joining together and taking action to get better working conditions.
A photograph of 'Sweeping' by the artist Vikram Divecha. It is on display in our exhibition Hard Graft.
Sweeping, Vikram Divecha, 2016. Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

‘Sweeping’ is a work about people who clean the streets in Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is a country in Western Asia.

The artist, Vikram Divecha, worked with 5 street sweepers to make an artwork using bags of rubbish that they had collected.

People often don’t notice the work of street sweepers. The artist wanted to show how important and beautiful their work is.

A photograph of two people in an exhibition space looking at a large scale installation artwork. The artwork shows the inside of a church with stained glass windows and a film  being projected in the centre. There are also wooden pews with ceramic works on display. 
Money Makes the World Go Round, Lindsey Mendick, 2024 Commissioned by Wellcome Collection, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Money Makes the World Go Round’ is about the stories and histories of sex workers. Sex workers are people who get paid for sex.

The artist is called Lindsey Mendick. Lindsey worked with a group of sex workers in the UK when she was planning her installation.

What is in section 3

A photograph showing section 3 of Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Section 3 is called ‘The Home’. It tells stories about how:

  • different kinds of work are done in the home
  • doing this kind of work can be harmful
  • a lot of this work is hidden because it happens inside people’s homes, not in public
  • people doing this kind of work are often badly paid, or not paid at all.
A photograph of a sculpture by Shannon Alonzo called 'Washerwoman'.
Washerwoman, Shannon Alonzo, 2018, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Washerwoman’ is a sculpture made by Shannon Alonzo. She created it in her grandmother’s house in Trinidad.

Trinidad is an island in the Caribbean. The Caribbean is made up of:

  • a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic
  • some places in North America and South America that are next to the Caribbean Sea.

The sculpture is about the work that washerwomen did in the Caribbean in the past. It is about the effect of this kind of work on the women’s bodies.

A photograph of a display of colour photographic prints, they are arranged in clusters and depict staged portraits of domestic cleaners and abstract images of the body. They are displayed against a wall of aged textured wallpaper.
No Rest for the Wicked, Kelly O'Brien, 2022-ongoing, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024.

‘No Rest for the Wicked’ is a group of photographs about women in the artist’s family. Her great-grandma, grandma and mum all worked as cleaners. The artist also worked as a cleaner.

The photos show how cleaning can be tiring and hard on the body.

A photograph of four people sitting around a table within a large-scale art installation. There is a black-and-white film being projected onto the table and across their hands. They are surrounded by a curved wall covered with a textile wallpaper depicting photographic representations of hands, lit by purple LEDs.
Care Chains (Love Will Continue To Resonate), Moi Tran, 2024 © Moi Tran Commissioned by Wellcome Collection, Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Care Chains (Love Will Continue to Resonate)’ is an installation about domestic workers. Domestic workers do different kinds of work in people’s homes, like:

  • cooking
  • cleaning
  • looking after children.

The artist, Moi Tran, made this with migrant domestic workers in England. Migrants are people who move from one country to another, often to find work. 

 To create this installation, Moi worked with:

  • musicians
  • a body percussionist. Body percussion is when you use your body to create sounds, like clapping
  • a choreographer. Choreographers create dance routines
  • a composer. Composers create sound and music.

Accessibility in the exhibition

A photograph of the pick-up point at the start of the exhibition
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection accessible resources, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

You can find accessible guides at the start of the exhibition.

The guides are:

A photo of a gallery guide for Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection gallery guide, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • A gallery guide with words and pictures.
A photograph of a large print guide for Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection large-print guide, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • A large-print guide.
A photograph of a visual story for Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection visual story, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • A visual story.
A photograph of a sensory map for Hard Graft
Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection sensory map, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • A sensory map. A sensory map shows you where there are things like out-loud sound, bright lights, or seating.

Digital guides

Icon for audio-described.
Icon for BSL (British Sign Language).

There are 2 digital guides that you can use:

  • an audio-descriptive guide to hear what 11 artworks in the exhibition look like
  • a British Sign Language guide of videos for people who use BSL.

The digital guides are on our website.

A photograph of the first QR code in our exhibition, Hard Graft
QR code in Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

There are 12 stops in the digital guides.

There is a number and a QR code next to each stop in the exhibition. You can scan the QR codes with your phone to get the digital guides.

To scan a QR code:

1)   open the camera on your phone

2)   point it at the QR code

3)   click on the link that appears.

If you do not know how to scan a QR code, we can help you.

A photograph of the tactile floor line in Hard Graft
Tactile floor line in Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

There is a white line on the exhibition floor. Follow the white line to get to each stop.

The white line has a pattern that you can feel with your feet.

Icon for BSL (British Sign Language).

If you want to watch the BSL guide on your phone or other device, you can:

1) scan the QR code with your phone camera

2) choose ‘Watch British Sign Language videos’.

Icon for audio-described.

If you want to listen to the audio-descriptive guide on your phone or other device, you can:

1) scan the QR code with your phone camera

2) choose ‘Listen to audio’.

A photograph of an audio player
Touch-button handset in Hard Graft Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Or you can listen to the audio-descriptive guide by:

1)   picking up a touch-button handset in the exhibition

2)   pressing the number of the audio stop.

Icon for audio-described.

You can also book an audio-descriptive tour. On this tour a member of our team will explain what the things in the exhibition look like. You can look on the website for dates.

If you want an audio-descriptive tour for your visit today, please tell a member of our gallery team. 

You can get all the information that is on the exhibition labels and panels by scanning the QR code with your phone. The information can be read by a screen reader.

To scan a QR code:

1)   open the camera on your phone

2)   point it at the QR code

3)   click on the link for ‘Exhibition text’.

If you do not know how to scan a QR code, we can help you.

Icon for WiFi available.

You can use our WiFi for free. To do this, you need to:

1) turn your phone’s WiFi on

2) choose Wellcome WiFi

3) tick a box to accept our terms and conditions

4) choose ‘Connect’.

A young man and a young woman wearing tops with Wellcome Collection logos to show they are staff,
Visitor Experience Assistants. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

If you need help with anything, you can ask a member of our gallery team.

Relaxed openings

Photo of a person at a relaxed opening of the exhibition 'Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights'. They are wearing ear defenders and sitting on a comfortable mat in the exhibition space.
Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights Exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock, 2024. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

If you need additional support to enjoy this exhibition, join us for a relaxed opening. At a relaxed opening there will be:

  • fewer visitors
  • extra gallery staff to help you.
Photograph of a person looking at equipment available in the exhibition

At a relaxed opening you can use our:

  • cushions
  • ear defenders
  • tinted glasses
  • tinted visors
  • weighted lap pads.

At a relaxed opening there will be a chill-out room. The chill-out room has:

  • low lighting
  • soft seats
  • sensory and fidget toys.
A pound sign that is crossed out.
Icon for booking required

There will be 4 relaxed openings during the exhibition.

Relaxed openings are free.

You need to book a ticket.

Here are the dates and times:

  • Thursday 7 November 2024, 10:00–12:00
  • Saturday 4 January 2025, 18:30–20:30
  • Saturday 22 Feb 2025, 18:30–20:30
  • Saturday 19 April 2025, 10:00–12:00

Tickets will be available on our website from 10 October 2024. You will be able to find them on our events page.