Where does my value lie? (Crone) - Tori McLean

Royal College of Art
 
Where Does My Value Lie? (Crone)
Mixed Media Automaton - Photolithography, laser-cut plywood, card, wood veneers, acrylic & aluminium, UV printed plywood, acrylic & aluminium, 3D print, cord, wood, metal, ring, & music box 
 
This piece challenges the often-invisible cycles of emotional and physical labour that shape many women’s lives. Set against repeated photolithographs of spinning plates, and symbols of endless domestic repetition, her measured juggling movement reflects the persistent balancing of responsibilities that can restrict opportunity for self-realisation.

Green hues and cross-hatched surfaces evoke the language of currency, while the automaton’s mechanism incorporates fluctuating markets, referencing capitalist systems that depend upon unpaid caregiving and domestic work while denying it economic recognition. Through this contrast between labour and value, the work questions how worth is defined when essential work cannot be measured in wages.

Yet the act of constant juggling also becomes an image of resilience, dexterity, and endurance. The Crone’s sustained motion reveals the extraordinary capacity required to keep everything aloft, exposing the frequently overlooked inherent value within labour, that is fundamental to sustaining families, communities, and society itself.