Delegated Bodies

2026

Date: 24/01/2023
Injury type: Soft tissue damage
Cause: Slip trip fall same level
Medical treatment: No
Date: 10/09/2022
Injury type: Bruise / Bump
Cause: Slip trip fall same level
Medical treatment: Yes
Date: 25/11/2022
Injuty type: Cut / Laceration
Cause: Contact with sharp object
Medical treatment: Yes
Date: 01/11/2022
Injury type: Cut / Laceration
Cause: Lifting and handling injuries
Medical treatment: Yes


Talk of “politics” can sound disembodied, like a mind without a body. But in practice, institutions are carried by people who unlock doors, carry trays, wait, tidy, and keep time. Sometimes, in the middle of that ordinary work, something snags: a cut, a sprain, a bruise. These are breaks, not duties; brief interruptions that show the seams of routine. This series draws on anonymised accident reports filed by House of Commons employees in 2022/23, restaging minor workplace injuries through sharply lit photographs inspired by training manuals, forensic archives, and documentary portraiture.

Photography and concept by Hamish MacPherson. Make up by Molly Winchester (@aw.sfx) Staging was developed by volunteers Gill Harley, Andy Smart, Caroline Thomas, Kubilay Ufuk Ozdogan, Mil Vukovic-Smart, Debbie Winchester, and two more that did not wish to be named. Faces appear only with explicit permission; participants could veto images before print.

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