For the past two years, four women have been exhibiting their photographs in laundromats. Valérie Callewaert, Anne-Sophie Costenoble, Marguerite Lagage and Marina Piérard launched the project with the idea of finding a new and less traditional audience. The method of exhibition is simple and democratic, displayed between washing machines, soap and graffiti.
Where’d you come up with this idea?
We all met at the same non-profit photo studio, Contraste. We wanted to keep meeting and discussing our work, thinking about a common theme, then the idea of exhibiting together in an unpretentious place came to us. One of us said that the walls of a laundromat are as clean and welcoming as the walls of a gallery. So we chose laundromats. Purely by chance, we met a family that owns laundromats, and they were curious and open to things besides business. To widen the circle, we occasionally called in other photographers like Anne-Sophie Costenoble (who stayed), Michel Claris and Jean-François Spricigo for an exhibition. The project is open to everyone.
How has it been received? Are you on hand to talk with people?
We get the same welcome as someone who comes in with a basket of dirty laundry. Sometimes they say hello, sometimes they’re curious, sometimes they want to talk, sometimes nothing. Sometimes people think that we’re hanging up ads. Laundromats are relatively calm places in big cities. There’s no real need to consume, and social ties can form. We’re there for a day or two for the installation. We come back to see our pictures and talk to people if they feel like it. Our photographs can start up a conversation. In a laundromat in Ougrée Seraing, we stayed the whole day and were invited to meals. It was a concrete sort of exchange and we quickly saw the meanings and benefits for everyone. We have a long-term commitment with them and we are financially supported by social services from the province of Liège, which understood that art can also help people in fragile situations.
Have you gone in secret to watch how people look at your photographs?
We go regularly to see if the photographs are still there, because they stay up a whole season. Some get torn down or disappear and we replace them. What we’ve noticed is that people washing their clothes in a city are often alone, and it’s then—if they’re not glued to a smartphone—that they look up. Like in an exhibition, we can never be sure if or how people will respond to a given image. There’s always a modesty on the viewer’s part. We leave our contact information, which lets people get in touch with us. A homeless couple got mad at other customers who had torn down a series of pictures of homeless peoples’ beds in different European countries. We were touched to see that after several weeks in contact with these images, they were able to defend them better than the artists.
Read the full article on the French version of L’Oeil.
EXHIBITION
C’EST DU PROPRE !
Photographs at La wasserette.
From February 7th to May 7th, 2015
312, chaussée d’Ixelles (Flagey)
1050 Brussels
Belgium
http://wasserette.over-blog.com
http://valeriecallewaert.wix.com/valeriecallewaert
