Jiwei Han – Launderette
“Launderettes are classical and fascinating. More ordinary if I compare them to supermarkets, pubs, libraries and similar places and spaces where people meet and socialise. Launderette is used through necessity, and the only real motivation is to clean ones clothes and in essence there is no reason why you would want to socialise, relax or unwind in the space. They are sometimes noisy and hot.”
Iwas practicing this project since November 2011. I would choose it because, firstly, I come from China and we have no any launderette. So, I am very curious about this place. And more, for me the launderette is more like a ‘Microscope’, through it which can reflect some typical British social and cultural issues from its inside world if I want to know and understand about people’s life. Secondly, which reasons encourage me to do this project are from the British movie ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ [1985], which mixed the racism and sexism issues and had caused considerable attention in the international film world. I was thinking at that time why the story background would be set in a launderette by the director Stephen Frears, instead of to put it in some other places, such pubs or supermarkets.
Launderettes are classical and fascinating. More ordinary if I compare them to supermarkets, pubs, libraries and similar places and spaces where people meet and socialise. Launderette is used through necessity, and the only real motivation is to clean ones clothes and in essence there is no reason why you would want to socialise, relax or unwind in the space. They are sometimes noisy and hot.
I think this awareness that you are not pressurised to engage or socialise creates a special environment. Like a bus journey, you have to wait. Nothing can be helped to speed up the driver nor to make the spin cycle go quicker. This can be a very therapeutic process.
I think users of launderettes quietly enjoy this ritual of literally ironing out ones life laundry, whether it involves talking to others, people watching or relaxing. In this way, launderette could be seen as a social centre.
Launderettes are in decline. According to NALI [the National Association of the Launderette Industry], numbers in the UK peaked at 12,500 in the early 1980s but have since have dwindled to just 3,000. [BBC News] With this decline, many launderettes have not been upgraded for the past 20 to 30 years. Therefore, what can we do before it completely disappears from our life?
More images on www.jiweihan.com. Jiwei Han (b. 1980) is a Chinese documentary photographer, based in Beijing, China and South Wales. He is currently studying the MA Documentary Photography course at the University of Wales, Newport. In 2004 he graduated from the BeiHang University in Beijing with the Bachelor degree of the Computer Science and Technology. He worked for 7 years as a Software Engineer and a Project Manager in NASDAQ: SOHU and VIA Technologies, Inc. For the infinite love of photography, in 2011, he finally decided to give up his Project Manager job and came to Newport to study the MA Documentary Photography course.