Amelia Stein (b. 1958) Laundry

A stack of fresh, pristine white and loosely folded linen occupies the central ground of the composition, set atop a grey blanket and standing in stark contrast to the surrounding, pitch black background. The pile of bedclothes, an ordinary mass of domestic labour, is given a monumental presence through its central staging within the photographic image.

The work stems from Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland in 2018 and its coincidence with the recent births of children to young mothers close to the artist. In the juxtaposition of these events, the artist was reflecting on the brutal treatment of women in Ireland through state-sanctioned religious shaming and enforced subjugation in the Magdalene Laundries, abusive workhouses run by the Catholic Church. Stein perceived in a moment of her own household toil, that a folded bundle of laundry might be reconceived as a poetic tribute to the lives and labour of the Magdalene victims, an everyday task elevated to eminent memorial through art.