In an instant no 9

Tao Aimin’s work has focused on the challenging lives of rural women for over 20 years. Two recurrent motifs feature across her paintings, prints and video works: traditional wooden washboards used by women when laundering textiles; and ‘Nüshu’, the once secret Chinese script developed and used exclusively by women. Literally ‘women’s writing’, ‘Nüshu’ has a slanted and hook-like form that some believe derives from embroidery stitches. It was created in the 19th century by rural women in today’s Hunan province in southern China and was often used for intimate letters exchanged by ‘sworn sisters’.

‘In an instant no 9’ comprises four scrolls, each with ink rubbings taken from one of thousands of washboards collected by the artist, alongside poems in ‘Nüshu’. The poems reflect on marriage, the challenges and joys of motherhood, and loneliness. Using centuries-old techniques of ink rubbing, painting and calligraphy, Tao’s work also connects to contemporary issues of gender and labour.