The Mansudae Art Studio is an official artist studio (changjaksa) in Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK), which employs more than 1000 artists across the disciplines of painting, drawing, embroidery and mosaics. Artworks draw on the rich cultural heritage and political language of North Korea to convey the value and nature of work and the importance of the collective unit. Monumental in scale, Work team contest is an example of the mosaics frequently installed in public places around the DPRK, including metro stations and sports stadiums in Pyongyang. They often mark historic events, and convey messages that promote nationhood and unity while also functioning as public art.

Work team contest depicts a group of steel foundry workers who have won a team productivity competition. However, our reading of the workers’ happy faces is skewed by the knowledge that, according to the United Nations, the North Korean people live under ‘systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations’.