Anna Dunnill

Salt Scrub engages with the notion of ‘purity’ from the perspective of the queer body.

The work draws on the ritual of baptism, which signifies entry into the Christian church. Spiritual purification and the ‘washing away’ of sin are symbolised through the pouring of water over the head, or full-body immersion. Along secular lines, the title and the vigorous scrubbing recall the everyday beautifying process of exfoliation, a morning ritual that often signifies waking up and beginning the day.

With a soundtrack of dischordant, lamenting violin music, Salt Scrub acknowledges – and perhaps tries to scrub away – the painful history between queerness and religion. The work seeks to move beyond this, however, into a space of reinvigoration and bodily awakening.