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FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND

Vaughn Bell

Brightwater

Artful bars of soap create mindful moments in the water cycle.

Vaughn Bell. FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND, 2013. Glycerin soap with ceramic. Brightwater. Woodinville, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Vaughn Bell
“Over and over again, we wash away waste,” says artist Vaughn Bell, whose FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND is made up of bars of soap, each with a special stone inside. Bell was inspired by the ongoing ritual of handwashing and the intimate but overlooked bar of soap that slowly disappears down the drain over time. With FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND, she created a “moment of noticing” for an act we usually perform almost unconsciously. Each bar of clear glycerin soap contains a small ceramic “stone” inscribed with lines from Janet Norman Knox’s poem “Carbon Shining in Our Faces.” As the soap shrinks with repeated use, the words on the stone become clearer, revealing one of several two-line stanzas, such as “froth hand over hand / rinse you swirl me.” Bell imagined the many hands that would use each bar, in many locations, all connected by the vast wastewater system. Eventually, she knew, all the soap would dissolve, leaving behind the stone as a relic and a reminder of water’s continuous cycle.
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Vaughn Bell. FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND, 2013. Glycerin soap with ceramic. Brightwater. Woodinville, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Vaughn Bell
Vaughn Bell. FROTH RINSE REFLECT SEND, 2013. Glycerin soap with ceramic. Brightwater. Woodinville, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Vaughn Bell
 

About the Location

Brightwater

Science, art, design, and ecology come together at Brightwater, one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in the world. Located north of Woodinville, WA, Brightwater comprises a park, a community gathering space, an exhibition hall, and a scientific learning laboratory in addition to the structures that house technical operations. Throughout the site, integrated and portable…

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