This is my final blog post for the Launderette Project and an opportunity to share the video I've made. It's been a really enjoyable project to work on and, despite lockdown and not being able to get out and about, I feel like I managed to make a lot of connections with people up and down the country. The response has been great and over a hundred anecdotes, memories and stories were shared. It would've been wonderful to feature them all, but it would've made a very long video. I had responses from 37 people and many gave multiple anecdotes, so it was difficult to decide which to use. They all added to the overall feel for the project, and how it then translated into the video and images I produced.
It would be easy to only focus on all the positive and whimsical stories, but that would be ignoring the persistent lack of access that is the norm for so many of us. So I have tried to strike a balance in what I've featured. Some of the stories were quite similar too. Socks being eaten by washing machines is definitely a thing, disabled access is still an issue in many places, and doing washing clearly doesn't deter some men from being inappropriate and creepy towards women. As I said in my first blog, the launderette is a melting pot of society, where people from all walks of life are brought into one place, so there are bound to be some more unsavoury elements popping up too. But, overwhelmingly, despite the mundane functionality of doing a household chore, and the time and effort it requires to do it, the majority of stories were filled with a fondness and nostalgia for the warmth, the clean soapy smells, and the gentle whirr of the machines. And for many people, participating in the retelling of these stories allowed them a brief time-travel back to another time, and an awakening of distant memories.
I hadn't set out to make a video like this, but it somehow grew of its own accord. At the start of the project I had envisaged creating something more serious and 'grown up', but perhaps that's not really reflective of who I am, and my more colourful and playful side elbowed those plans aside and created something more fun. It needed to be really, because the poignant experiences of the disabled and shielding participants offer a stark contrast to the more light-hearted recollections, and I wanted to make sure they were heard, but not presented in a way that just made people switch off, which people can tend to do when faced with uncomfortable truths. So I set the final selection of stories against the colour, textures and sounds that are synonymous with doing the laundry, bringing the stories to life, and showing the engagement process that, despite lockdown, made it all possible. It has been a very involved and interesting project to work on, and my thanks go out to everyone who was so willing to air their dirty washing so publicly.
And if you are keen to hear more launderette stories with a different focus, I encourage you to read the blogs by the five other fab artists working on this project too. There are some wonderful, intimate conversations that span different cultures and generations. I've really enjoyed exploring them, and seeing all the different approaches the artists have taken to share them. I'm sure you will too :)
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