DIRT

The quote ‘Dirt is matter out of place’ from Mary Douglas’ book “Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo” was a central inspiration for this work. ‘Dirt,’ she writes, 'offends against order.’

DIRT is an installation that looks at the very matter around us, and at the modern obsession with dirt and cleaning. If you don’t clean or have a dirty living environment, it is suggested you are somehow morally less, as in “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Cleaning within the domestic environment is still most commonly and historically the labour of women (DIRT approaches ideas of gender) and is either unpaid or badly paid. DIRT is deliberately repetitive and laborious like the endless task of cleaning itself.

DIRT is an installation piece which varies in size according to the site. It has a a roller towel wrapped on a rolling pin which is attached to the wall, hangs down and onto the ground were it is carefully folded. The word DIRT is stencilled in collected dirt from the site and the remainder of the towel is left in a heap like dirty washing. When exhibited as part of The Pink Noise show in Suffolk Emma Gregory and Henny Burnett incorporated a performance piece as part of DIRT.