We went to visit the ‘Invisible Hands’ exhibition in the Jersey Arts Center. It is a series of photographs about the potato farming industry produced from the perspective of the workers themselves; all of the photos in this exhibition have been taken by them. This exhibition has a high significance as seasonal farming work has been an important part of the Jersey economy for over 150 years, yet their presence is mostly undocumented, limited to staged photographs by local media or marketing photos.

Through this the exhibition urges farmers to provide better living and working conditions for Polish and other immigrants working in their farms. One worker says ‘We work very long hours, sometimes 12 hours and sometimes longer than 12 hours, regardless of the weather – whether there is rain or a cold wind, we are still working, and sometimes we work on Sunday, which is not great for everybody.’ They work in very poor conditions for long hours all for minimum salary

As a result of this the project includes a list of eight requests to improve working conditions for Polish migrants, as shown in the below photo. Those eight points (requests made by the workers presented in the art project and displayed in the exhibition) include reforms to the health and social security system that currently mean workers are not eligible for benefits until they have been in the Island for six months, and improvements in living conditions and wages for those undertaking the most difficult jobs.

To add an artistic element to the list; the eight points have been written by an automated arm as shown below.