Venice’s narrow cobblestone streets are a challenge to navigate.
It’s not uncommon to see clotheslines linking one home to another. In Italy, drying machines are rare. Women of historic homes take pride in hanging their family’s garments. Air-drying is the proper method for linens, underwear, and even towels. You can learn a lot about your neighbors by watching how they air-dry their clothes.
After becoming accustomed to (often inefficient) machine dryers, American tourists are surprised by the colorful arrays drying clothing. There is an art to how far-away residents take care of their clothes. The Italian term for laundry is bucato. It is especially important in older cities where the wisdom of the women is passed on from generation to generation.
The art of washing clothes is not limited to the old European countries. Mumbai, India is a city where laundry has become more than a necessity. It’s a way to live.
Most washermen and woman who work at the open-air laundries in cities come from long lines of mothers and dads who shared the same occupation. Mahalaxmi Ghat was founded in 1890 and is now the largest open-air laundry in the city. It has been cleaning clothing for over a million items a day by some of most hardworking and efficient people in the country. The complex had concrete pens and flogging stone, as well as wash basins and clotheslines. It also smelled of soap throughout the community where workers lived in modest homes.
We’ve gathered a collection of beautiful images taken by Offset from around the globe, all showing laundry being hung to dry.
The images, with their billowing fabrics, vibrant colors, and contrasting textures, are beautiful. But, they have a deeper meaning. The way a community cleans its domestic items says a lot about them, their history and their daily lives.