"Self-care" series

Nowadays, we are struggling to juggle jobs and our personal lives, as well as keeping up with the rising costs of surviving austerity policies. Leading an urban life is in many ways like driving on a busy highway: this life is filled with stressors and triggers that affect our physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. It is in this context that self-care routines have been introduced and have become extremely popular online, encouraging us to take a break from this cruel and hectic lifestyle.

With her Self-care series, Raadik explores the entanglement of self-care practices and consumer products. Combining the self-care liquids in an absurdist way flies in the face of carefully staged images on social media that have marketed products for people to try out different self-care routines. This is not about purchasing an overpriced organic bubble bath bomb, a true marker of the capitalist nature of the society we live in. Instead, by making these materials her own, Raadik invites us to become immersed in a ‘flow state’ of balance and challenge, while imagining a way to improve our mental health, boost confidence and become happier.