The Sorting Office

The Sorting Office

A pair of legs, made from clay, flail form a figure diving headfirst into a box.

Welcome to the heart of ‘the system’.

Labelled, packaged, defined

Shifted, shunted, manhandled

This is the Sorting Office

Clay figures emerge from boxes. In the foreground a figure with a curved spine eches out with an arm as he climbs from a box labelled NHS.
A box labelled Dept of Education has a hole torn in the corner where a figurine's fist has punched through the lid. The arm and head of the figure is revealed within.
A small cardboard box labelled Job Centre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions. A white human figure sculpted from clay is pushing the lid of the box off. It's leg, arm and head protrude from the top of the box.
Clay figures reach and climb, emerging from boxes. In the foreground a figure stands looking up from within a box, the lid pushed away. The box is labelled Benefit Assessments and has a fish logo akin to that used by Atos who carry out the government's contracts to assess sick and disabled people for their fitness to work. Their chasing of targets for large bonuses have led to claimants dying in poverty or taking their own lives.

This is where you will be defined, assigned, and often maligned
(a persistent glitch in ‘the system’, I’m afraid).
Here you will be continuously assessed, and packaged into quantifiable terms. You will be labelled, weighed up, and your value judged.

Your ability to participate in life will be dependent on the good working order of ‘the system’. Sorting, and box allocation, will be dependent on your ability to meet the criteria and remits outlined.
We will decide if you make the grade, if you are the right shape, if you fit the box.

Unfortunately after a time, you may become trapped in some boxes. Many before you have tried to escape, few have been successful.

It may be useful to know, that having a foot in one box may give you a leg up into another, but be warned, access to some boxes can be deceptively tricky. Some will always be inaccessible.

We realise that conditions here are not ideal. We are currently overstretched and under funded and we have just received a new consignment of boxes to work with. However, be assured we will try to fit you into boxes wherever we can.

Please also be warned that falling through the gaps is a common hazard.

The Sorting Office – This piece has just returned from several years on display in the foyer of CAMHS, Conquest Hospital, Hastings and is now available for other settings.
Filed in: Work