The Office (27 November 2003–18 January 2004), the photographers’ gallery, London: a review

The recent preoccupation with the aesthetic dimension of organizational life (Carr and Hancock, 2002; Gagliardi, 1990; Linstead and Hopfl, 2000; Strati, 1999) has, in part, contributed to an ongoing interest in the visual culture of organizations and a concomitant concern with cultural artefacts such as logos and symbols, workspaces and architecture and even workers’ bodies. However, as Warren (2002) has noted, much of this interest has been articulated largely through spoken and written texts reflecting what might be regarded as something of a ‘visual illiteracy’ in work and organization studies (Strangleman, 2004) and indeed, the social sciences more generally. In this review we consider what contribution, if any, photographic exhibitions such as The Office might make to our understanding of work and its organization, and particularly to reflecting on both continuities and changes in the lived experience of office life.