"Workers! " 2019

Petra Bauer 

Born 1970, Märsta, Sweden. Lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. Pronouns: she/her. 

 

SCOT-PEP 

Founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1989. 

 

"Workers!" 2019 

single-channel video, 38 mins 

 

Courtesy of the artists. 

Produced by Collective and Her Film. 

 

 

"Workers!" was made in collaboration with the sex worker–led organisation SCOT-PEP, which is based in Edinburgh. Established in 1989, SCOT-PEP campaigns for the labour rights of sex workers, including the decriminalisation of sex work in Scotland. The collaboration took place from 2015 to 2019 and resulted in the film, a collection of research materials from the group’s meetings, as well as a digitally printed protest banner designed by the artist Fiona Jardine that reads “Sex Workers Unite” in purple neon font. The film’s narrative follows a small group of SCOT-PEP members over the course of a day as they stage an occupation of, and prepare for a SCOT-PEP event in, the Scottish Trade Union Congress building in Glasgow. This building has a long history as a site for political organising and workers’ struggles. Wide-angle shots draw attention to the building’s banners and architecture. These scenes alternate with close cropping, which is used to depict the activists’ hands as they work, drawing the viewer into dully familiar scenes. Slow and methodical images show SCOT-PEP members cleaning, sewing, and ironing. SCOT-PEP’s use of the Scottish Trade Union Building for a day of sex worker organising is a powerful, symbolic gesture in the struggle to have sex work recognised as a legitimate occupation.