Airing Dirty Laundry is an ongoing, collaborative performance installation that began in 2008. I embroider collected phrases, generated in collaboration with the public, onto flat white sheets and hang them in public and/or gallery spaces. Embroidery, as a central visual element, is shifted from its historical role as a private feminine action into a public context as a way to subvert traditional notions of “women’s work”, and to facilitate a space of unexpected intimacy.
This piece activates public spaces and changes the context of perceived domestic work as a way to engage in unexpected conversation and to reveal the common elements between meditation and everyday actions. Although the physical trace of the work can be experienced by reading the texts embroidered onto hanging white sheets, the actual piece is the immaterial exchange between the artist and the participant.
Texts are generated with an initial offering of phrase cards that begin with: “I Should…”, “Don’t Be Too…”, “Don’t…”, or “Not Enough…” Participants are asked to consider the playful yet thought-provoking notion of “airing dirty laundry” when completing the card and placing it into a transparent ballot box; the pencil used to fill out the card is offered as an exchange.
Using white thread, I embroider one phrase per sheet. This typically takes place in public where one does not usually find this kind of activity: on a park bench, at a café, in a library. It has been my experience that many people, after the initial hesitation to speak to a stranger, often share very personal stories about themselves. As the work continues to be fabricated in various locations, a shared quality – of grace, humor, and raw honesty - has emerged as a powerful aspect of the process.
Airing Dirty Laundry was conceived as part of Rosenclaire's work (Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky) Domestic Departures in Santa Ana, CA. It has been performed at the Junto Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), installed at Roos Arts (Rosendale, NY), and fabricated in various locations in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
