Dirty Laundry

Many of us are taught as children to avoid “airing out dirty laundry.” Starting with the secrets collected about our families, we are carefully instructed what can and cannot be shared. As we grow older, we are taught first-hand the negative impact of dirty laundry being aired, the first time a friend breaks our trust or we break theirs, the importance of secret keeping is established. In adulthood we learn that dirty laundry has a line, one that is drawn somewhere between an embarrassing anecdote and a dangerous pattern, hidden between past failure or a future intent to harm. In a post #metoo world, the decision to keep or to tell a secret no longer resides with the “grown-ups,” because now we are the grown-ups.

In Dirty Laundry, four Tennessee artists have been selected from the Locate Arts Artist Registry whose work directly relates to this challenging subject. Each using the visual symbols of laundry to present their concepts, their works vary from the cleanliness of the detergent bottle to the shame of dirty wash water. Behind each artist’s work is a thread leading to the women behind the laundry, the expectations placed on them, and the decision they must make.

Featuring Caroline Covington, Sophia Mason, Erica Mendoza, and Erin Tucker.