Exhibition: Caroline Jacob

wASH Laundrette

Site-specific laundry detergent installation

9 sep 2017
19 dec 2017

Caroline Jacob tackles common preconceptions of food, waste and hygiene in her latest work wASH. Using waste materials left over from Mediamatic’s food production, she creates a site-specific laundry detergent through heirloom recipes for soaps. The exhibition will open at Mediamatic Biotoop on the 9th of September.

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Close up installation Wash your dirty linen in public, at Looiersgracht 60 - Caroline Jacob  invited visitors to wash their clothes in the gallery space for a week. Picture: Iris Box   

Monday wash day!

Questioning the status of ordinary washing places, Caroline Jacob has shifted the usual location of the laundrette and will transform Mediamatic into a laundrette to present wASH. Preserving the social aspect of the laundrette, Monday Washday Laundrette is an opportunity to gather, try out wASH, as well as tell the stories emerging its creation. As an homage to the heirloom custom and the recipe embodied in the laundry detergent, visitors will be invited to wash their laundry in the space. The laundrette will open its doors every Monday and will be available for free use all day long. Visitors might become performers, clothes gesticulated, machines resonated. 

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Napkins that will be washed by wASH - Rather than applying regular ink Caroline Jacob used common ingredients responsible for the spots and wipes to print a pattern on the fabric.

Washed with wASH

At the same time, Caroline Jacob presents a series of stained napkins in the restaurant. As part of her quest to find the perfect recipe for the laundry detergent, she silkscreen printed stains on napkins and compared the different soap test samples she made to select the recipe that proved to be the best formula in terms of stain removing and fabric softening.

The napkins will be washed at the Mediamatic 'laundrette' using wASH laundry detergent. As an indicator of the performance, Mediamatic ETEN’s customers who are dining next to the installation will experience the (non)scent as much as the softness of the washed items.

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wASH silk screen printing - Designer Caroline Jacob reveals the properties of ash by creating a site-specific laundry detergent at Mediamatic.  

wASH

wASH is an entirely natural and environmentally safe washing detergent produced at Mediamatic in 1L units, sourced from one day’s ash output. Caroline Jacob revisits this byproduct of Mediamatic ETEN through heirloom recipes and generates an organic laundry detergent that uses only ingredient found on-site. The soft unscented soap is enhanced with harvested lemon verbena known for its antiseptic qualities as well as bokashi juice, a by-product from ETEN’s organic waste, rich in the role of a softener.

About Caroline Jacob

The multidisciplinary work by Caroline Jacob (1993, Fr) comes about through an intent of questioning and reinterpreting material and process. From an observation of reality to daily life activity, she reflects on temporality and ephemerality. The core focus is an interest in the evolution of waste and remainders. By questioning the origin and treatment of those materials she seeks to morph its final outlook.

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08-09-2017 wASH flessen - Kunstenares Caroline Jacob gebruikte het Aroma Lab voor haar project wASH , waarvoor ze afvalstromen van Mediamatic gebruikte om een wasmiddel te maken. Als artist in residence heeft ze de bijproducten van Mediamatic ETEN bestudeert en hiermee haar recept voor de wASH Laundry Detergent ontwikkelt. In de tentoonstelling wASH Laundrette werd het Aroma Lab getransformeerd tot een tijdelijke wasserette waar bezoekers gratis een wasje konden draaien. Caroline Jacob

Product sale

The product is of course more than just a display item: it can also be used during your weekly laundry. Customers can buy the product at the Mediamatic ETEN bar for 5,-.

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Participants take notes for their wASH detergents - During the wASH workshop on 9 July. Anisa Xhomaqi

Do you want to learn more about creating your own detergent? Join our wASH workshops and buy your ticket here. Next workshop: 7 October.

Information

Free entrance
Exhibition: accessible during the opening hours of Mediamatic ETEN
Laundry day: on mondays 12:00-16:00
Opening: Saturday 9 September | 17:00-19:00
Mediamatic Biotoop, Dijksgracht 6, 1019 BS, Amsterdam