What it’s Like to Not Shower for Three Weeks
Whatever adjectives Americans find to describe newness, you can be assured they’ll quickly be shoved down our throats. The pressure to be fresh fuels New York’s constant commerce and conversation, pushing businesswomen to sample sales on their lunch breaks and inspiring countless conversations that start with “ooh, new shoes?”
This collective commitment to regular consumption has made everyday reinvention the status quo. But what might our urban world look like if we said fuck it to the 30%-off sales, haircuts, bath bombs and aspirational Pinterest boards of ever-changing outfits? Performance artist Caroline Newton took 21 days to explore just that. For three weeks, she stopped showering and changing her clothes, then documented the process with photos and hand-written notes.
We caught up with Caroline to ask her about the process.
What interests you about personal presentation and appearance?
Personal presentation and appearance is a very interesting concept to me because it is all is relative depending on where you live in the world. This experiment only really worked as a performance piece commenting on social norms because I do live in NYC where identity appearance and style is a daily expectation to consider, especially for a creative artist!
As the experiment continued, you said you realized how important it is for you to be able to express yourself with your clothing. As much as getting dressed can be a chore, do you think you appreciate the creative options more now?
With this piece, I wanted to raise the following questions: Why is it assumed that one should change their appearance daily and how does taking away this freedom affect our identity and self awareness? As for my personal experience, I was somewhat shocked to realize that after a week or two in I really wasn’t feeling myself at all. It is crazy how much of our self comfort, consciousness, and emotional stability relies on how we curated our look each day. I definitely appreciated the creative options more and didn’t take this freedom for granted after the piece was over.
As soon as I mentioned this performance to my sister, she asked, ‘Did she get a UTI?!’ Were you ever worried this project would lead to medical issues?
Haha! Your sister seems to have a logical sense of humor. Although I didn’t shower for the duration of the piece, I came to realize that hygiene and cleanliness in our culture today is quite superfluous. You would be surprised how much the body can tolerate — even with just minimal cleaning. When I was doing this piece it was right around the time that Ebola hit NYC and, in my opinion, people become ultra hypochondriacal, obsessed with cleanliness, and paranoid about bodily germs. To me this was another component of the performance that pushed the boundaries of a social norm… but don’t get me wrong.. by the end of this piece, I did really feel like a shower was needed!
Can you describe a couple of the moments when you felt self-conscious? Did other people ever comment or act in a way that made you feel self-conscious?
I would feel the most self-conscious on the weekends I think, when friends of mine would dress up for dinner or something, and I would be like… well, I guess I’m wearing the same thing again this weekend. Another time when I went to work, someone said to me ‘Didn’t you wear that yesterday’… yes… yes and yes.. Nonetheless, for the most part I began to embrace it. Even when I broke the performance, I felt like a part of me had changed, like I was supposed to wear the same jeans and t-shirt again.
How did it feel to shower at the end of the performance?
The shower felt GREAT. I think it was the longest shower I’ve ever taken.
