Brooke Shaden

Before I get a bunch of emails from people telling me that I don’t need to defend myself, I want to point out that I simply choose what I will write about based on what makes for the most interesting conversation :-)

I titled my new piece “Douche” and I expect(ed) two things from people. First, people would either read the title and laugh and consider the photo to be a joke. Or people would read the title and be offended or more likely, uncomfortable. Those are two things that I do not intend by titling the piece how I have. Instead, I hope that with a title like that people will stop and think for a moment about the reason behind it. And to further that train of thought that I hope you’re having, I’m going to write about my decision and the meaning I think it lends to the piece.

"Douche"

When you do a very basic google search you find a Wikipedia article about the word, and this is the definition it gives: “A douche is a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons, or the stream of water itself.” Going off of this as a starting point, I am immediately drawn to the stream of water coming off of the rag. There is a physical representation of the “the stream of water itself” in the soapy water and also from the spout where the water is hitting the subject’s leg. The definition also says that the word has implications of becoming cleansed, which is exactly what is happening to the dish. The dish is being cleaned by a stream of water, hence, “douche”.

But then there are the implications here with female hygiene. The plate is being held to cover the vaginal area of the woman. We can make connections here between the placement of the plate and the woman: perhaps the cleansing of the plate is standing in place, or as a metaphor, for the cleansing of the woman. The woman seems lost, her hair is askew, she is faceless and nameless. She is nothing more to the viewer than a housewife perhaps, sitting on the counter washing a dish. Yet does this woman not deserve to be more than that? Shouldn’t this woman be cleansing herself of this image rather than perpetuating it?

The way she sits on the counter shows how she has given up. She can no longer stand to wash her dishes, and why should she, who is watching? We are, the viewers of this photo, and we are privy to this scene in which the woman cleans everything but herself, where the woman takes care of everything but herself. It is almost a bright, lighthearted scene that I have created here. The colors are vibrant and the light in the photo is crisp, yet there is something menacing in it. There is something in the way that the photo is so realistic that makes the viewer stop and notice the little oddities.

Another detail that I find interesting in this piece is the way that her toes are grasping onto the counter. It says that she is trying not to fall off the counter or into the sink, she is steadying herself in this position. And yet the position she is in is uncomfortable, she should be trying to break free from it. And finally there is a window in this shot. I shot this scene three times yesterday. The first time I composed so that the frame would not have a window, but upon finishing the image I decided I had to shoot it differently, both for compositional reasons and for symbolism. This woman is sitting right next to a window, she is lit by the window and we can see detail in the outside world. It adds an element of entrapment: she is so close to being free, she can see the outside world, and yet she sits there cleaning a dish, sad as can be. That window also suggests that others could be watching her, that she is merely a spectacle for us all to see rather than a flesh and bone human. One final detail that I will mention here is the olive oil bottle, a blatantly phallic image here and one that speaks for itself.

There is a stereotype that I am fascinated by and I have dealt with numerous times in photos. I like to portray the “common” housewife, the stereotype rather than the persona – I like to show the misery behind being stuck in a situation. This photo is a continuation of that, a furthering of the metaphor. To see my other photos dealing with this theme I have made a set on flickr titled “In the Kitchen”. Thanks for reading, and I really hope to have a dialogue with people about this. I create not only for myself but also to open up discussions with all of my online friends! xx