‘I’ll Sweep Your House‘, an installation of ritual brooms, 2008
The broom is a particularly potent dramatic prop in the performance of the English Folk Mummer’s plays. The lead character often carries a broom with accompanying nonsense dialogue such as the phrase “I’ll sweep your house”. The gesture and implication is that of making way for a common stage, a place where the folk ritual can take place, be it on the street, in the living room, or in a pub.
