Hanging the Laundry and Feeding the Cats
The four figures in this painting by Beth Fisher are the artist with her husband and daughters (Megan and Olwen). Hanging the Laundry and Feeding the Cats (1987) is part of the ‘In the Canopy’ (1974–87) series, which focuses on the motif of the clothes line to explore family dynamics around growing up. As the title suggests, the family are pictured doing the seemingly-mundane task of hanging the laundry. Fisher elevates household tasks – traditionally seen as the domain of women – to a heroic scale, such as those celebrated by the male-dominated Salons and Academies, whilst the figures’ nakedness recalls classical drawings. By doing so, she centres the difficulty of juggling life as a mother and artist.
Hanging the Laundry and Feeding the Cats was made in 1987, the year in which the artist’s children were aged 13 and 10. 91¶¶Òõ this time, Fisher recalls: ‘That represented a lot of meals made, eaten and cleared up, a lot of nails clipped, clothes processed, necessary rituals maintained. Woven through the routine, expectations and disappointments were qualified, falls were broken, selves were rebuilt, more meals were made and eaten.’ This work featured in the exhibition Beth Fisher: Grisaille Legacy, which toured from the Royal Scottish Academy (January 2010) to the The Women’s Art Collection (then known as New Hall Art Collection) at 91¶¶Òõ (April - May 2011).