market forces
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Bus Regulation: The Musical (Merseyside)
15 Jul 2023
The Black-E, Liverpool -
Bus Regulation: The Musical (Merseyside)
The final part of Harrison’s Bus Regulation: The Musical Trilogy – inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’ – re-enacts the history of public transport provision in the Merseyside region from the post-war period to the present day… on roller skates!
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Bus Regulation: The Musical (Strathclyde)
The second iteration of Harrison’s Bus Regulation: The Musical – inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’ – re-enacts the history of public transport provision in the Strathclyde region from the post-war period to the present day… on roller skates!
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The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint
On 4 November 2019, Luath Press published Harrison’s first book. Inspired by her 2016 ‘durational performance’ The Glasgow Effect – for which she refused to travel beyond Glasgow’s city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for the whole calendar year – the book provides the complete context for her thinking and action. (Word count: 119,000)
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Bus Regulation: The Musical (Greater Manchester)
Inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’, this performance / event re-enacts the history of public transport provision in Greater Manchester from the post-war period to the present day… on roller skates!
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People Powered Money
From March 2016 – March 2017, Harrison worked as part of the ‘Glasgow Pound Working Group’, to explore possibilities for developing a citywide community currency to serve the people of Glasgow and build a stronger local economy.
Project website -
The Glasgow Effect
The Glasgow Effect was a multi-layered ‘research project‘, which took place in 2016. Its central provocation was that Harrison would refuse to travel beyond Glasgow’s city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for a whole calendar year (1 January – 31 December 2016). On 8 January 2017, she gave a talk about the work at the Glasgow Film Theatre. On 4 November 2019, she published a book providing the complete context for her thinking and action.
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High Street Casualties: Ellie Harrison’s Zombie Walk
A performance / event in collaboration with Ort Gallery staged on Birmingham’s busy shopping streets. Dressed as “zombie employees”, more than 60 participants helped to map the former locations of thirteen of the big retail chains which have disappeared from our high streets since the start of the financial crisis in 2008.
Project website -
How the ‘Them’ became ‘Us’
In this short text, written for ShareAction’s Listen to USS! divestment campaign in 2014, Harrison exposes how compromises can so easily occur when one grows-up and gets a ‘proper job‘. (Word count: 998)
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Say No to Tesco
In 2013, Harrison led the Say No to Tesco campaign, which began as a protest against the proliferation of small supermarkets in Glasgow and concluded in the group presenting a petition to the Scottish Parliament in 2014.
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Vending Machine
An installation for which an old vending machine is reprogrammed to release snacks only when news relating to the recession makes the headlines on the BBC News RSS feed.
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The History of Financial Crises
An installation in which the turbulent history of capitalism over the last century is re-enacted each day by a row of popcorn making machines.
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Transactions
Developed to accompany The History of Financial Crises installation – for the duration of exhibition, Harrison sent an SMS message to the phone installed in the gallery every time she made an economic transaction. The Coke can dances with joy every time a message is received.