A rocket launches in between the gallery walls, a pheasant’s feather raises itself on top of an assemblage, a dining table is set inviting you to digest a film whilst being transported to a familiar home. This exhibition includes works from four artists – Jasleen Kaur, Dinu Li, Jamila Prowse and Joshua Raffell – working with objects to explore how we impart them with meaning and classify them, and in doing so, become a metaphor for how class functions in our society.

Class is a complex system. It is often depicted in abstract and subjective ways, difficult to visualise or comprehend in tangible terms. Class is represented through counterintuitive expressions of objects as a means to talk about one’s identity. The artworks offer a rich tapestry of often celebratory, explorative and surprising methods to talk about disability rights, the diaspora, craftivism, play, queerness and the family archive.

The objects within this gallery are animated; they glow, they float, they whisper and mock. You are invited to be amongst these objects, reflect on the lives they (mis)represent and question how class is embedded, marketed and co-opted by the reigning narratives. What does class look like nationally and internationally? How does it affect one’s perception of ourselves and others? How does class intersect with identity? How does class affect the way people consume, make and talk about art?

CLASSifications and its public programme offers a starting point to discuss ‘class’ and invites visitors to engage with an often unspoken, misjudged and neglected issue, to better understand how we can come together in building a fairer and more equitable world.

Curated by Ricardo Reverón Blanco

Install images by Phoebe Wingrove