Steam Clean

By Laura Ķeniņš. Published by Retrofit. 

Softcover, 84 pages, Colour, 2017. 

On a dark autumn night in northern Europe, a group of friends and strangers gather at a sauna for a women’s-only sauna night. Kaisa has been trying out dating apps after a breakup. Miika is conflicted about attending a women’s event as a nonbinary person. Maija’s work tensions bring up recollections of other events from the past. Laima feels torn between her role as goddess of women and her sexual orientation. As the sauna heats up, stories come out in the steam.

Laura Ķeniņš is a comic artist and journalist who has lived and worked in Halifax, Toronto, Latvia and Hungary. Her short comic Alien Beings was published by kuš! komikss in 2016 and her comics have also appeared in Kuti Magazine, Truthout, The Puritan, Carte Blanche, the Los Angeles Review of Books and other publications. She has worked with the Ladydrawers and Femicomix Finland. Currently she resides in Toronto with her tuxedo cat.