Rinse It, 2024
video reel on social media, photos and descriptions of second-hand stained clothes for sale on Vinted
A study of the Vinted platform revealed a tendency to shift the problem of a stain on a garment to someone else, rather than dealing with it oneself. As part of her research, Milda Paukštė analyzed several hundred listings on the second-hand platform Vinted, where stained garments were being sold. She categorized them based on the origin of the stain, the nature of the description, and the seller’s attitude. The findings were both revealing and somewhat unsettling: only 5% of sellers mentioned having tried to remove the stain. 43% openly admitted they hadn’t even attempted to wash the item but suggested that the future buyer should do so. The remaining listings simply noted the presence of a stain without providing any information that might help with its removal. The video work Rinse It is styled as a short Reels-type clip, echoing the aesthetics popular on social media. A virtual finger taps repeatedly on stained areas of garments, mimicking the way users interact with posts online. The piece is a satirical reference to the aesthetics of digital content and the contemporary obsession with cleanliness and perfection. The video work is accompanied by a prototype of a card game based on real listings from the Vinted platform. On one side of each card – a stain; on the other – its description. The player must decide: wash it, ignore it, pass it on, or throw it away?
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