‘Heads’, Laura shouts across the entrance gallery of the new V&A East Museum. ‘Heads’, I shout back. I press the lower button on the mechanical hoist, the sort you’d normally use backstage in a theatre, and the first neon-yellow sculpture lowers with a whirr until I stop it just as its fabric skirt grazes the floor. We repeat this twice more, so that the three sculptures are at waist height. A crowd gathers around each stainless-steel disc, as each person reads the three-part poem laser-etched into each one with Laura’s handwriting. Laura talks with each visitor, hearing their stories of living in east London and sharing her research: the sculptures become a place of spontaneous gathering.
This was the first public operation of ‘Heads! Look to the Workers’, a new commission by artist Laura Wilson that builds on three years of research into east London’s histories of manufacturing, industrialisation and creativity.
Look to East London’s workers
Laura’s process is rich in archival research and with the beautiful collaborations she builds with experts and craftspeople. Beginning during her 2024 Bow Arts Trust x V&A East Fellowship, Laura has been building relationships with rope-makers, theatre technicians, local archivists, fashion designers, engineers, tailors, cloth manufacturers and many more. These people, along with the historic workers she investigates in archives and museum collections, informed the development of her new work for V&A East and leave their trace on its form and activation.
At every step Laura is asking us to ‘look to the workers’ who have, and continue to, transform east London through their labour.
Laura’s three circular sculptures are moved each day using a mechanical fly system, similar to those used in theatre – the original rigging systems for theatres would have been developed and operated by shipbuilders. This activation reminds us of the patterns of shift work, as well as the ebb and flow of the tidal Thames which shaped the regions industry, trade and therefore local workers’ lives. When the sculptures are lowered they reveal three acts of a poem that address the workers of East London – from the ‘lumper’ who carried goods in London’s 19th century docks to the ‘weaver’ of 17th century Spitalfields. Each sculpture is clothed in fabric from Stratford’s theatrical supplier JD McDougalls, in colours drawn from today’s high vis safety clothing as well as the historic hues of early 20th century workwear, and the advocado-pink in the overalls on display at V&A Storehouse.
If you don’t happen to catch one of the daily activations of the sculpture, you can listen to the poem which was recorded on the banks of the Thames here: Stream Laura Wilson reading the poem ‘Heads! Look to the Workers’ by VAMuseum | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
Working with the collection at V&A East Storehouse
Laura’s research into the V&A’s collection has seen us searching out objects which build our understanding of east London’s theatres, docklands and factories. Each visit was one of delight and discovery. Some of the objects that have inspired Laura are now on display at V&A East Storehouse.
These include a model construction crane with a pulley system from the 1950s which is part of the Young V&A collection as well as a portrait of Joan Littlewood along with some costumes from her plays and a collection of loom weights, pulleys and shuttles.
It was also crucial to include a safety curtain control panel. This piece of stage technology was produced by Birmingham’s Hall Stage Equipment Limited. Its founder, George Hall, had been a maker of ropes, pulleys and ironmongery for ships. Theatres required similar equipment to lower and raise scenery and stage curtains, and Hall found a ready market for his wares.
These historic objects are placed in dialogue with the piece of women’s workwear that Laura created with womenswear designer Georgia Gough during her fellowship.
Heads!
Each day at V&A East Museum you will hear the call of ‘Heads!’ as a member of our team activates Laura’s sculpture. This call to attention, which is used in theatre and on ships to get you to duck out of path of flying scenery or a pivoting boom, necessarily clears the gallery floor for the visitors’ safety but also acts as a call for us to pay attention to rich histories of east London’s workers. Laura’s sculptures gather people around them throughout the day, part of the new communities being forged at V&A East Museum each day.
Facts Only
* Three circular sculptures are displayed at the V&A East Museum.
* The sculptures are moved daily using a mechanical fly system similar to theatre rigging.
* Visitors read a three-part poem laser-etched onto each sculpture, written by Laura Wilson.
* Laura talks with visitors about living in East London and shares her research.
* Laura collaborated with rope-makers, theatre technicians, archivists, fashion designers, engineers, tailors, and cloth manufacturers.
* The sculptures are clothed in fabric from JD McDougalls, colours derived from high vis safety clothing, and historic workwear hues.
* Sculptures are moved by a mechanical fly system similar to theatre rigging, which historically involved shipbuilders.
* Historic objects, including a 1950s construction crane model and items related to stage technology from Hall Stage Equipment Limited, are included in the display.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The work functions as an embodied archive where physical mechanisms (the fly system) are linked to historical processes (shift work, tidal Thames flows) and contemporary social calls (‘Heads!’). The interplay between the historically specific labor represented by the sculptures and the modern public engagement creates a space for spontaneous community formation. The use of objects from theatre and maritime history—rope-makers’ tools, stage equipment—to frame industrial histories suggests a pattern where the infrastructure of labor itself is being re-contextualized as artistic material. The activation mechanism, rooted in safety protocols across multiple industries, simultaneously functions as an act of attentiveness toward marginalized historical narratives. The narrative structure subtly positions the contemporary viewer not merely as an observer but as an active participant within systems of historical production and social awareness.
Bridge questions: How does the reliance on theatrical rigging systems situate industrial history within a framework of performance? What are the implications of using safety calls from maritime and theatrical contexts to frame working-class histories in a public museum setting? Does this method inherently privilege certain forms of labor or knowledge over others in constructing the narrative of East London?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads as a well-researched narrative blending artistic creation with archival history, exhibiting a high degree of human stylistic variation and contextual depth.