Scrub Me Baby One More Time

Scrub Me Baby One More Time

Digital Illustration, 2023

Created and described by Gizem Güvendağ. 

[Hammam ambience with reverb throughout]

My childhood memories of public Turkish Baths called Hammam inspired this illustration. In this illustration, five female figures are bathing in a Hammam.

[running water]

The figures have warmer colour tones, contrasting the background of the Hammam, which has cold blue-purple tones. 

[running water]

The illustration style is mostly flat-painted without gradients. 

[scrubbing]

The outlines of the figures are red, and there are some small sprayed-like shadows or blushes on these characters. Their bodies are large, but their heads are proportionally smaller.

[children playing, people conversing in background]

The central figure in the front and the middle, dominating the image and appearing right in front of us, is a bit fleshy compared to the others and has red-orange hair and flecks. She is sitting on a marble structure typical of Turkish Hammams. She is rubbing her right breast with a coarse bath glove. Her right breast is enormous, and since she is washing herself underneath, this breast is pointing upwards and seems unfeasibly large, more prominent than her head, with a big orange nipple. This is a typical scene from my childhood Hammam memories. Her left breast is not there; instead, there is a surgical scar. She has a green towel over her thighs with just a few flecks of red pubic hair showing.

[water poured from bowl]

On the left side of the illustration, but on the right side of the main character in the middle, is a woman combing her curly brown hair. Her facial expression shows that she is having difficulty getting the comb through her curls. Her upper part is also naked; she has full breasts, and a red and white checked towel is tied around her waist. She rests her right elbow on the edge of a water basin.

On the right side of the image – to the left of the central figure, is an older woman with white hair standing up while pouring water from her head with a bowl. 

[loud water pouring]

She has sagging older breasts. A light green towel is tied around her waist. On her left – to our right, two more figures; smiling and chatting, one blonde woman with a green and red checked towel around her is massaging with foam the one sitting in front of her. The one sitting on a marble has broader shoulders and a masculine body.

The dominant emotions in this visual are mirth and joy. The environment is steamy, wet, and hot. There are some yellow jugs and bowls to use to pour water. Decoration in the Hammam is typical for Turkish Hammams, including some basic ornaments. We can imagine laughter and light-hearted conversations echoing through the marble decoration of the Hammam, and the sound of the running water from the fountains.

[water and laughter fade]