Elevation Station images and thoughts

by Ruth Barker, 15 Jun 2009

Hello,
I’m just adding those images, as promised, of the Elevation Station in progress. As I’m doing so, I’m also thinking through a question that was raised by Steve Murray – GANGHUT member and the driving force behind this project.

In an email this morning (I’m sure he won’t mind me quoting him) asking if I could send thorugh copes of the images, Steve commented that he’d “Had a few interesting comments from someone yesterday who said they wondered what GANGHUT would be like if it wasnt men in charge. Strange i never really think of GANGHUT being like that, i always think theres so much going on that its neither one thing or the other.”

The gender issue is an interesting one, because it was something that I’d noticed myself. The question I had myself was not so much one of ‘men being in charge’ but that there was a clearly gendered division of labour. Throughout the day, the men tended to take responsibility for the physical construction of the Station, while the women tended to take responsibility for the banner making. It was also the women who made the sandwiches. The issue of being ‘in charge’ is slightly more complex as it may be more personal. From an outsider’s perspective, Steve seemed to be ‘in charge’, but I was aware that he had taken the initiative on this project as had been the contact person for both PAR+RS who offered the initial invitation and the Scottish Arts Council who provided financial support.

I didn’t feel that there was any prohibitive sense to this allocation of responsibilities. In fact, I was not aware of any roles actually being allocated at all. Rather I got the impression that individuals gravitated towards jobs that they could see needed doing, and that they felt they could do well. this was the case for the day volunteers as well as the core GANGHUTers. Should the men have been more ‘empowered’ to take on the more decorative tasks? Was there an implicit inhibition encountered, or was it more to do with having a particular skillsbase (which may itself be gendered)? Or does it really come down to personal preferences, with this particular group of individuals making their own choices for their own reasons?

I’m certainly going to revisit the collaborative experience of The Elevation Station – not least through a Reflection or two that will present some more of the documentation from the day, as well as some background. So I’ll definately be talking to the group again and I’ll be sure to ask them what they think about the gender issue. In the meantime, perhaps after looking at the images I’ve posted here, PAR+RS readers can add their own thoughts.

More later,
R