Working Class
Celebrating the hands that build our world - one cut at a time
Working Class is a bold and unflinching linocut exhibition that puts the everyday labourer at the centre of the frame. Through striking black-and-white contrasts and raw, textural detail, this collection by Miguel (Andy) explores the grit, resilience, and dignity of working people; those who build, clean, carry, mend, and move the world forward, often unseen and unheard.
Carved into linoleum with deliberate force, each piece serves as both homage and critique. From factory workers and tradies to carers and cleaners, the subjects are rendered with a sense of urgency and quiet power. The linocut medium - sharp, physical, and unforgiving - mirrors the realities of manual labor, inviting the viewer to feel the weight behind each cut.
Presented at Blak Dot Gallery, Working Class is not only an artistic statement but a social one. It confronts the aesthetic erasure of blue-collar lives in contemporary art spaces and reclaims visual space for stories that matter. The exhibition resonates with themes of class, identity, inequality, and perseverance, urging us to look again at the hands that build our world.
Working Class is for anyone who's ever clocked in, carried weight, or felt overlooked. It's a celebration. It’s a protest. It’s art that works.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Title: Working Class
Artist: Miguel Andres Villanueva (Andy)
Venue: Blak Dot Gallery, 33 Saxon Street, Brunswick
Dates: Saturday 9 - Sunday 31 August 2025
Opening: Saturday 9 August, 2pm - All welcome
Free entry | Wheelchair accessible
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Miguel Villanueva, known as Andy, is a Chilean visual artist based in Australia since 2018, currently serving as a Master linocut and etching Printmaker for Aboriginal Art Centres. With twenty years of expertise, Andy specialises in relief printing on paper and textiles, utilising wood and linoleum. Throughout his career, he has engaged in diverse creative projects, showcasing a critical perspective on political and social matters, exploring themes like poverty, folklore, and Indigenous culture.
A published author of five books, Andy conducts printmaking workshops, emphasizing community engagement. His international presence includes exhibitions in Chile, Peru, Italy, and Australia, with recent solo shows in Melbourne, including "En Tránsito" (2018), "Human Vices" (2019), "The Blood is Money" (2022), "Blood and Earth" (2023). Notably, Andy secured the A1 Darebin Art Salon Exhibiting Prize, and held a solo exhibition called “Transitory Story” (2024) at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre (BHAC), “Traces with History” (2025).