Uniform. Into the work / out of the work at Fondazione MAST explores workwear and identity

The exhibition "Uniform. Into the work / out of the work" at Fondazione MAST in Bologna examines the relationship between clothing, uniforms, and identity through photography. Curated by Urs Stahel, the show features 44 photographers including Sebastião Salgado, August Sander, and Irving Penn, alongside anonymous works. It opens with four large prints by Stephen Waddel depicting a road worker, a flight attendant, a dandy, and a porter. Stahel notes that most photographs ever taken are anonymous, and the focus is on workwear rather than individuals. The exhibition explores how uniforms can be unifying or divisive, as seen in Clegg & Guttmann's "Group Portrait of the Executives of a Multinational Corporation," which highlights class distinctions. Barbara Davatz's series "Beauty Lies Within" documents Swiss young workers wearing H&M, presenting an anti-uniform stance. In an adjacent space, Walead Beshty's 364 photographs (from over 1,400) portray people in the art industry—artists, collectors, curators, workers—revealing that even the rejection of uniforms becomes a uniform itself. The exhibition runs at Fondazione MAST in Bologna.