GUTSTRING SHOWCASE - Louise Ricards

I am exploring an emerging anxiety around ageing, where my body becomes another domestic object to be maintained. Through video, I juxtapose the ritual of a facial with ironing, both acts of care, control, and surface transformation. As fabric is smoothed, I turn the gesture onto my own face, questioning routines that promise renewal yet risk harm. While some describe ironing as meditative, I resist this , but have added a meditation in the form of a mandala flower, made from the shape of the iron plate. This adds to the surreal element of the video. I am using repetition to probe tension, monotony, and the uneasy boundaries between self-care, labour, and self-erasure.