“The girls brought out the laundry from the cart, brought it to the washing pools and trod it, competing with each other. When the dirt was gone, they spread their clothes along the shore, where sea salt washes pebbles to the beach.”
Drawing from Book 6: The Princess and her Laundry of The Odyssey I explored the ritual of washing. In the book, the women utilise their natural environment and all it has to offer. They wash their clothes and enjoy each other’s company, playing on the beach. It prompted me to contemplate our current laundry habits. Since when has washing become such a chore? Why do we render it so harmful to our environment?
Through this piece I experimented with natural dying, working with all-natural fibres and creating a low environmental impact installation.
In the exhibition, I asked the audience to participate in this ritual. If comfortable, members were asked to remove their shoes, take an item of clothing, place it in the water, tread on it, wring it out and then hang it up to dry.
