a room with a view

another room or space that exists both literally and figuratively, with the two not being strictly separable. often the private quarters of migrant domestic workers have no windows opening to the outside world; no direct sunlight, no fresh air. the architectural physicality of these rooms forecloses the possibility of interaction with the exterior, closing domestic workers off to encounters and experiences beyond the realm of the atomized, monadic interiority of the domestic and the private. the view, the window, then, begins to symbolize vision and perspective more generally; the possibility for such workers to see beyond their present condition, to have something to look forward to. (this is of course not to say domestic workers lack perspective, rather that it is made harder structurally to cultivate perspective when denied a basic a room with a view.)

my kitchen window makes me sigh

Posted on 04/03/2012 by marc

name: raquel / age: 35 / profession: photographer / location: Barcelona / weekday: monday / reference: My small kitchen is sweet

tree bath

Posted on 10/11/2012 by marc

name: Realizza / age: 25 / profession: domestic worker & visual artist / location: london / weekday: monday / reference: refreshing art in my bathroom.

dirty spaghetti

Posted on 31/01/2018 by rogier

name: Larissa / age: 23 / profession: graphic design student / location: antwerp

Sao paulo

Posted on 09/07/2013 by marc

name: Luciana / age: 37 / profession: photographer / location: Netherlands / weekday: tuesday / reference: outside home, my toilet window, sao paulo, brazil, private space, building, architecture, caos

AIsd

Posted on 07/08/2014 by marc

name: -jl / age: 35 / profession: web designer & photographer / location: Barcelona / weekday: monday / reference: AISd stands for “Auto imposed sensorial depravation”. This is the view from My home-office. I get no sunlight except for 40min around 15h. The rest of the time i don’t know what time it is or if is it cold, hot or raining.

werker 3 / domestic worker photographer network

a collective and political representation of domestic space open for constant improvement and study. browse & contribute!