Work-Leisure

ABOUT

From the whimsical to the functional, Work-Leisure delves into the many things made by workers for their own amusement across the different industries in Park Royal

One of the largest industrial estates in Europe, Park Royal is home to more than 2,000 businesses and 40,000 employees. Over several months, London-based designer Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad visited hundreds of Park Royal businesses and met with workers to catalogue what was being made after-hours and in between tasks on the estate.

Recipient of OPDC’s Major Art Commission, Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad’s Work-Leisure exists as an exhibition, a publication, and a website.

The resulting visual archive contains a diverse range of personal, playful, and practical objects which, although made within an industrial context, fall outside of supply and demand. Each of these projects – from a tyre dealer’s rubber chair to a metal technician’s welded flowers to a glazier’s decorative mirrors to an office manager’s feminist embroidery – reflects a sense of creativity shaped by the working knowledge, materials, and manufacturing landscapes of the makers.

Work-Leisure is commissioned by the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) as part of the Great Place Scheme and produced by Create London. Funded by Arts Council England & National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad is a London-based designer. Drawing from such fields as anthropology, aesthetics and play theory, his studio produces work ranging from design for the public realm to workshops, games, spaces and objects. He has worked with cultural and educational institutions, the public sector and local authorities to develop tools and methodologies that proactively engage publics in design processes.