In Organs of A Divided Labour – Pipes and Fittings, Jeremy Ayer imitates, in a quantitative and protocol-based manner, the pack shots (studio photographs of objects intended for sale) from a metal tube retailer’s catalogue. After ordering the pieces from the same catalogue, the artist then carefully reproduces the pack shot with a large-format camera. Ayer introduces layers of gesture and suggestion that allude to traditions of conceptual art, while deconstructing the codes and aesthetics of commercial photography.

By appropriating the photographer’s original commissioned work, Ayer places himself in a chain of production and gives the making of art the status of work.

The resulting images, as well as the book in itself, are an extension of these strategies, at first glance not dissimilar from any other catalogue of metal tubes, but actually layered throughout with intention and defiance.