Ironers and Shakers, a solo show exploring the relationship between food and textiles by Deirdre Nelson, has opened in London.

The exhibition is centred on the Walton Lodge Laundry in Coldharbour Lane and the surrounding Granville Arcade in the heart of Brixton market. Both the laundry and the market are famous local landmarks - architecturally, socially, culturally and economically important.  The market is a reflection of the cultural diversity of the area and is home to a world class selection of foods, while the laundry is significant as it has been trading in the same building for over 120 years and has remained family owned since its inception in 1880.
 
In her work Deirdre works with text and archive materials, unearthing historical anecdotes about local characters. For Ironers and Shakers she has made a series of works based on her research into steam laundries.  She was primarily interested in the way the company launders restaurant tablecloths, napkins and towels, so the exhibition is based on food, cooking, recipes, sharing and entertaining, all strong characteristics of Brixton’s reputation for sociability.

Pieces in the exhibition include a revolving tablecloth (so that visitors can hand-crank a length of cloth and discover new dining stories) a linen dispenser (that many of us remember from our schooldays as a roller towel) and sets of folded napkins and tablecloths printed and embroidered with new anecdotes and snippets of historical information about the laundry process. For example, women laundry workers were originally paid in barrels of beer in exchange for their labour.   All the cloth in Nelson’s show is second-hand - carrying the marks of previous users, and all of it was bought exclusively on eBay.
 
Her collection of new work also involves stories of stall holders and laundry workers past and present; the laundry process – crumpled stained linens to crisp ironed linen; rituals of eating and dining out, and traces of people’s experiences and events recorded in the cloth, all of which end up at the laundry.

The exhibition, presented by the London Printworks Trust,  is on from 9 February until 31 March at Units 90 and 91 Granville Arcade, 6th Avenue Brixton Village Market, Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8PS tel: 020 7738 7841  Opening hours Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm.

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