Wash-up Wash-down

'Wash-up Wash-down' came about through a collaboration between the artists Emma Gregory and Henny Burnett. A sketch of an idea was sent between the artists about the repetitive nature of domestic chores, in particular clothes washing: carrying dirty and clean washing up and down the stairs. The piece was developed during lockdown when the artists couldn’t physically work together. In response to Emma's drawing Henny stenciled the words WASH in washing powder on the stairs that linked her studio to her domestic space. The smell of the washing powder added a further dimension to the piece. They were finally able to make the piece together for the exhibition ‘The house protects the dreamer’ at Safehouse 2 in London. The piece developed an interactive quality as the viewers altered the work by walking through the washing powder. A further film was created when the artists swept the work away, another repetitive domestic task.