“The making of a hand broom is a symbol of the bygones, but also a present, critical gesture that shapes our perception of our relationship to the distancing senses and the environment.”

This seminar begins with cleaning: wiping, sorting, deleting. The small acts we do (or avoid) to keep things going. Cleaning is physical and emotional, practical and symbolic. It clears space, reveals systems, creates order or exposes chaos. As routine, as choreography, as gesture. Together we’ll look at cleaning and maintaining as creative, critical, and sometimes absurd practices. We will get our hands dirty, read care labels, exchange household tips and look into broom closets. What does cleaning do to objects, spaces, systems, selves? Isn’t dirt just matter out of place? Can cities become too smooth? Who does all the work? How to remove spilled wax? We’ll respond in our own way. Conceptually, materially, research-based. Come with gloves, parsley between your teeth, with good and bad habits, and unfinished thoughts.

During the workshop, students dived into the craft of traditional broom-making. Together with the Bio Design Lab, we reshaped what a cleaning tool can be – treating brooms as metaphors, exploring embodied knowledge through making, and letting found materials steer unexpected directions. Each piece that emerged speaks its own language about “cleaning” and what the act might mean today. 

“The making of a hand broom is a symbol of the bygones, but also a present, critical gesture that shapes our perception of our relationship to the distancing senses and the environment.”