communal

seams

i miss seeing my neighbours washing hanging in the sun. you see, laundry is a love language back home in lisbon. hanging clothes outside of our windows, facing the street, reaching towards the sidewalk, creates a shared moment, a point of connection that equalizes us, all, regardless of money, status. we lay our robes, our underwear, our garments of special occasions out under the same sun that we all share. a simple universal routine that removes barriers of class and culture fostering intimacy between us all. the city has a choreography with the elements. a collective show and tell towards the sun. after longs periods of rain, there’s a collective draw towards the window, openness and warmth, shedding the layers of days past to prepare for the next. lean and hang. show and tell. the white linen contrasts against coloured socks, the sheets carefully placed to not block the neighbours window, to not graze the heads of passersby, or get caught on a traffic sign. how many are you, how much you earn, physical nuances of the body, where you’ve been, type of work, hygiene habits, visitors, trips to different climates, new and old garments, it’s all there, for the city to read. a collective effort that keeps what’s bound by walls open, sharing signs of life, this exact one in this exact moment. living archeology laundry list:

the anachronistic cartoon shirt, the worn blazer, the matching or not underwear set, an odd number of socks, personal colour palettes, the aftermath of holidays or special occasions. how many adults? single mum? how many kids? newborn? who’s missing? widow? who’s now part of your home? new partner? how clumsy? accidental or habitual? stained bed sheets, signs of growing and aging. different tenants all together. shoes hanging? shoes balancing? the sounds of rusting wheels sliding on aging metal cords, a birdcall to the neighbourhood.

this series is a love letter to community, to the small habits, carrying on unscathed, indifferent, defying all the changes happening around them. this is a love letter to the simple, trivial, fulcral, elements that bind them. and, to me, laundry is the perfect example.

it’s a moment of sharing, of social interaction, that i’ve craved since living in australia. a richness of palate in social discourse, an underlying tone that textures neighbours and neighbourhoods. a lean towards the communal.

this series has been photographed across multiple yearly trips to lisbon and it represents different examples of launderers, buildings, weather and moments in the city. an ever growing collection of communal seams.

credits

communal seams : lead artist + photographer

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