Washing in the river

Tao Aimin is a multidisciplinary artist who is recognised as one of China’s most influential contemporary artists. Concerned with women’s histories, labour and language, she combines elements such as the timber washboards used by women to scrub cloth, with techniques ranging from ink rubbing and calligraphy to video and installation.

Washing in the river shows women’s hands moving up and down on washboards, evoking the heavy burden of their onerous chores. About the work, the artist stated, ‘This hard and repetitive work has its own musical sound, and yet the work is unseen. I recorded the hands from woman at different ages. Young hands replace old, gnarled hands. The river flows on’.