This toy truck came directly out of the original earlier residency in Hull 2008 where the mechanism for 'The Austerity Miniature May day Parade' was initially developed. In a sense it was a sketch for what this work was later to become.

On Mayday 2015 the parade idea was initially tried out in the form of a workshop piece at a student mayday fair. Participants were invited to take part in decorating a toy Mayday parade truck. The participants were only allowed to take part after they had signed a contract........a zero hours contract.

The text of the contract was used on a stack of contracts that formed the wall mounted plinth for this piece in 'Remnants of Utopia'. (The text of the contract is wrritten below)

Dear member of the Proletariat,

The members of the committee are grateful for all your work and would like to extend the gratitude of the ruling class for your loyalty to democracy for the past 100 years. Fortunately the red communist menace has ceased to exist and by coincidence, as you know, there is now also a recession. The threat of revolution has passed and we feel less inclined to give a fuck about you anymore. In the interest of austerity please except this cut back miniature Mayday parade and sign this zero hour contract to forfeit all of your employment rights.

I the undersigned agree to my exploitation in exchange for a world full of mind numbing game shows, cookery programmes and facebook. I accept the worship of celebrity as my new opium of the masses.
signed : Comrade........................................................

P.S. We have sold your council house, ended the right of everybody to free education and are in the process of dismantling your free health care.