Steph Hargreaves

Cache 22

Steph Hargreaves has responded to the idea of Hyperreality in the domestic realm. Addressing the physical and virtual need for cleansing she has constructed a space, resemblant of a bathroom in which the participant is invited to virtually cleanse. Her practice is concerned with the ideologies of networks and connectedness - physically, digitally and metaphorically - by
exploring post-industrialisation, post-Fordism, and our current digital condition.

Steph Hargreaves describes her work in the exhibition: 

"Firstmost the burdoning feelings of fear towards the notions of ‘hyperreality’ are encouraged and induced by uncertainty. I believe we feel increasingly vulnerable in this anxiety-riddled reality - and nothing numbs that feeling better than cleansing yourself from it. How is it that we can feel relief from clearing our internet cache or deleting or unflattering nudes???

I have played with the domestic spaces of hyperreality, in particular, the bathroom as a space for cleansing and privacy. Is that tape over your computer’s webcam enough protection for you? If you scrub yourself hard enough will you remove all the dirt?

Considering the bathroom as a place of retreat and pampering has feminine connotations. The aesthetic of water being symbolic of female sexuality is alluded to."