ARTISTS TALKING

Contemporary exhibition spaces based in the houses of artists and curators are an increasingly visible phenomenon, from established spaces such as Danielle Arnaud and Trace to innovative curatorial frameworks such as My House Projects.

Elastic Residence is an artist-run space established in 2004 and situated in a late Georgian house in East London. With the latest exhibition ‘The House: construction, destruction, reproduction’ Elastic have turned the focus onto the venue itself, commissioning three emerging artists to contend with the issues raised by the marriage of domestic, social space with formal exhibition space.

In the basement space, Dawn Woolley’s meticulously constructed doll’s house aims to examine the repetitive, performative nature of domestic activity. However, the real power of the work lies in the carefully observed details, ornaments and keepsakes which give real depth and character to each area of activity.

Matt Nee’s installation Wallspace is originated from points on the original plans, of the house overlaid and then re-figured as a three-dimensional map of the spaces that constitute the lived environment. The piece is a powerful insight into the division between architecture and the ways in which we relate to it. In contrast Mark Harris’s Shredder 3 challenges the domestic landscape by feeding period wallpaper through giant shredders. His practice literally fragments and deconstructs a sign system designed to help us locate ourselves within the domestic environment, and make us feel ‘at home’.

Of course there are problems with working within a domestic setting, as sound and light pollution can disrupt, or affect the reading of the work. However by engaging with the associations specific to the domestic realm, Elastic underlines the need for the house gallery format to carefully consider the architectural implications and personal associations particular to the site, rather than denying the established sense of place.