Tammie Huang

Dirty Laundry

Dirty Laundry is a series of linocut prints I created to capture my mental state and paranoia. These prints combine aspects of my culture and the voice inside my head. The project is titled Dirty Laundry because the most stigmatized parts are on display for everybody to see. Originally I created this line-dry system in my room to serve as a drying rack for my prints, but I began to like how it looked and wanted to incorporate it into this project. It was oddly fitting, as I was laundering my tainted memories to dry. More images are included on my site.

“Dirty Laundry is a series of black and white relief prints that represent a physical manifestation of the pain and mental illness after traumatic experiences. The prints are put on a line to dry and makes the term “dirty laundry” come to life, as the most taboo topics of mental illness are hung up for everybody to see. It is set in a bedroom using a curtain rod, string, and command hooks. These pictures are based on the feelings of hopelessness and guilt one woul.d feel after a devastating event. The process of creating the prints is symbolic, since any mistakes created while carving cannot be undone, and you must work around it. The exhibition of the images demonstrates the lack of privacy and high levels of paranoia somebody would feel after a highly traumatic event. This rack is invasive, publicizing the figure’s most vulnerable moments. It is a visual diary of destructive thoughts and behaviours that one can feel without words. It draws upon influences from Chinese culture; specifically Lunar New Year and also graphic artists such as Satoshi Kon and Katsuhiro Otomo. The images depict a female figure in different stages of distress and hopelessness. The theme revolves around the loss of identity and control, becoming more disfigured overtime. Most of the prints make usage of reflections and cognitive distortion to further the subject of instability. Despite not having any words it is still able to communicate the ideas of grief and relapse. ”