Ellis Ludlow is a performance and installation artist based in Edinburgh who graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art in 2024 with a degree in Intermedia Art.
'My work contrasts the hidden labour of cleaning with a performance style influenced by my experience as a drag artist.
Cleaning becomes a hidden labour due to matters of class and patriarchy. Through my performance work I bring this to centre stage, using the strenuous, repetitive movements of cleaning as dance moves, and combining the expression and storytelling of drag. My work draws from past workplace experiences, exploring the concealed emotions and recreating the physical spaces.
Through dirt and queerness, the body then becomes abject. Inspiration for my installation came from cleaning cupboards of previous workplaces, dusty and cluttered spaces you can hide in when you are feeling less presentable. In a rejection of social norms, queer people often celebrate what is considered disgusting and filthy, something we can also use to deconstruct our relationship with cleaning and sanitations jobs.'
