How often do we hear "success stories" of the Indian tech world because we can now get groceries delivered in under 10 minutes? Or because we can use an app to book an at-home facial at a moment's notice? How often, when these stories are told, do we pause to think about who creates this "success"? Is it the platforms? Or the workers whose labour and bodies are seen as cheap, dispensable, and at times even invisible?
When Fairwork, at the Oxford Internet Institute, reached out to me to create a series of posters to portray gig workers' rights in India, I knew that this would be a project like nothing I'd done before.
Each step of the process was a challenge. Research (on everything from Chittaprosad's powerful linocuts to newspaper clippings on delivery accidents) while not always comfortable, was essential. Conceptualisation, particularly as it was a standalone poster and not a comic, was key. There were over a dozen rough drafts, mistakes, and scribbles before difficult choices were made, and I only hope I've done this justice.
I'm so grateful to the entire Fairwork team, especially Pablo Agüera Reneses, Navneet Gidda and Mounika Neerukonda for inviting me on board for this very special piece of work. Thank you all so much for all your trust and patience!
The Fairwork Report is available here: https://t.co/ZNuPGrIdek and I encourage you to read it, to deeply question how we can shift current practices and narratives about gig work.
When Fairwork, at the Oxford Internet Institute, reached out to me to create a series of posters to portray gig workers' rights in India, I knew that this would be a project like nothing I'd done before.
Each step of the process was a challenge. Research (on everything from Chittaprosad's powerful linocuts to newspaper clippings on delivery accidents) while not always comfortable, was essential. Conceptualisation, particularly as it was a standalone poster and not a comic, was key. There were over a dozen rough drafts, mistakes, and scribbles before difficult choices were made, and I only hope I've done this justice.
I'm so grateful to the entire Fairwork team, especially Pablo Agüera Reneses, Navneet Gidda and Mounika Neerukonda for inviting me on board for this very special piece of work. Thank you all so much for all your trust and patience!
The Fairwork Report is available here: https://t.co/ZNuPGrIdek and I encourage you to read it, to deeply question how we can shift current practices and narratives about gig work.
