A bed in a gallery – it’s been done before. But the bed in Make yourself @ home is a place to view the art from rather than being the art itself. It’s comfortable too, with Araminta Campbell’s cosy blanket on it.
The idea to have a ‘bedroom’ in the gallery came from a comment made by someone who bought one of my drawings, who talked about how he loved to see it when he first woke up, how it seemed to change every day, revealing something new each time. I wondered if the fact that you are relaxed and horizontal in your bed meant that you engaged with a piece of visual art in a different way.
I also thought it would be fun to view a whole range of works from this comfortable place, so I hit upon the idea of presenting a ‘digital gallery’ here, enabling me to show far more works than would be possible on the actual walls, 130 in all.
There’s a slightly odd sensation on stepping through the blackout curtains to find a big bed in a dark room – do you look at it, perch on it, flop right on to it or walk straight through? The signage invites the visitor to put their feet up and so far most people seem to investigate gingerly at first, then realise it’s ok to use and cosy up with their pals to watch the slideshow. Giggles can be heard from inside the curtains. Children have no problem with social norms and just get straight in there!
This dark space is also ideal to show two artists’ work – Liz Tainsh’s lightboxes inside the bedroom echo pieces just outside and Sarah Roberts’ ‘Dustmite Quartet’ has the perfect home here, best viewed with the little UV lights for a cool surprise!
