Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao will create a large-scale installation at the National Gallery of Victoria inspired by an 18th century communal laundry.
The installation is the inaugural commission in the Mecca x NGV Women in Design series aimed at showcasing the work of internationally renowned female designers and architects.
Bilbao’s installation, titled La ropa sucia se lava en casa (Dirty clothes are washed at home), will explore concepts of domestic labour, gender and community using clothing as a symbol of protection.
The centrepiece of the installation will be a basin-like structure modelled on the communal laundry in the town of Huichapan in central-eastern Mexico, which was built in the 18th century to provide access to natural spring water to the local community.
Tatiana Bilbao is the first designer to be commissioned in the Mecca x NGV Women in Design series.
Image:
Ana Hop
Her practice Tatiana Bilbao Estudio conducted sewing workshops in Mexico City and Berlin to produce patchwork quilts, made from donated textiles and clothing, which will drape over the installation.
The installation will also be accompanied by drawings of communal laundries and wash houses from around the world.
Bilbao established Tatiana Bilbao Estudio in 2004, based in Mexico City. Her studio focuses on challenging historical conventions and making spaces more inclusive and people-oriented. She often collaborates with other architects, artists, communities, as well as business people to enrich the culture and built landscape of Mexico.
The installation at the NGV is an expression of Bilbao’s aim to free architecture from the conventions of the 20th century and propose a new trajectory focused on community, sustainability and ethics.
La ropa sucia se lava en casa will be on display from 6 October 2022 until 29 January 2023. Tatiana Bilbao will also present a keynote lecture on 5 October.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
