Lake Shore Cleaner
Video clip (color and sound) 30 seconds
Lizzie Strongson

Image credits: Lizzie Strongson

In the performance LakeShore Cleaner I walked to Oak Street Beach on Earth Day, carrying cleaning tools and dressed in a domestic servant uniform. Beginning with purification rites at the water’s edge, I washed my hands and face and offered a libation of Malört liquor to Lake Michigan. To highlight the sanctity of seemingly mundane tasks I silently swept, mopped, and re-sanded a small section of the shore while contemplating repetitive acts of labor and rituals of restorative care that sustain our communities.