The Laundry Series

Teresa Ascencao

A Space Windows

March 15 – April 20, 2019

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Dressing, Pinning, Folding, and Spinning are cohesive sets of photographic installations deriving from explorations with laundry. I photograph myself in various interactions with clothing. Each set explores a growing repertoire of body language associated with my struggles with clothing, domestic labour and folk rituals. Second-long automated exposures capture unnoticed and continuously dissipating moments between clothing and the human body – moments known only to the body and the clothing themselves. The moments range from sensual and nostalgic, to strenuous and dramatic. Dressing hovers between sensual play and frantic disrobing to disrupt a feminine identity. Pinning of freshly washed clothing was performed and shot in my mother’s backyard while she watched. Folding of freshly dried laundry piles up against a garden backdrop. Spinning is inspired by my heritages of Azorean folklore dancing and Brazilian carnival. Here, I tied heaps of dirty laundry to my waist while I spun for the camera.

Biographies

Teresa Ascencao was born in Brasil. She is a photo-based artist who holds a BFA with distinction from the University of Toronto and teaches at the Toronto School of Art. She was co-curator of Sem Saudade / Without Regret.