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In January 2016, the residents of Space36 invited six artists to spend several months rummaging through the space, its history and the lives of its past and present inhabitants to fill the space with their “take” on anything they find. The results were shown over the weekends of 11/12 and 18/19 June in an exhibition called The Secret Life of no:36 as part of the Crouch End Festival.
For the inhabitants of Space36 it was a suspenseful and scary prospect, giving up notions of privacy and personal space and allowing outsiders into their domestic lives. For artists and hosts like, it was an unique opportunity to explore the boundaries of what private really means - a minefield of implied permissions, really personal spaces, forgotten histories, implicit tastes and beliefs. The artist taking part were: Roan Allen, Liz Brown, Esperanza Gomez Carrera, Stephanie Conway, Livia Garcia, Jeannette Abi Khalil, Ahmed Farooqui. More on the artists and the artworks below |
Roan Allen
The Eavesdrop Map “On Tuesday I was fortunate to be invited to No.36, for tea and biscuits. During the afternoon I overheard a private conversation about a mysterious room upstairs. Curious to find out more but knowing permission to take a look inside the strange room would be refused, I can only translate to you what I heard.” |
Liz Brown
House no:36 I create a virtual community for no:36 Ashley Road by asking members of the public, wherever they are in the world, to photograph and send me images of houses in their area that are numbered 36. These images form a collage of houses from across the world which have just one thing in common, the number 36 in their address. In a world where humans measure their friendship circle by counting the number of Facebook friends they have, I hope to bequeath to no:36 Ashley road its own virtual community of “friends”, obtained at the click of a camera. |
Stephanie Conway
In/visible My approach involves creating a series of nuanced painterly interventions on the ceilings and walls of No 36. These works seek to explore the architectonics of the building and also delve into the historical links between No 36 and the local Anglican Church St Mary’s of Hornsey. It is a speculative approach, attempting to make the invisible visible by revealing traces of a past history. |
Esperanza Gomez Carrera
Light, in pursuit of freedom Those of us who enjoy the company of books carry within us a warm feeling at the thought of returning to the quiet shelves where they await us. Often when looking around the book lined walls of a home library I find myself living the life story of the owners. Books preserve the memory of those who have read them, and with it the possibility of sharing the stories of previous readers. These books have locked up the gazes of Alan and Ahmed in some instant of time, and through my installation, it is these gazes that now seek space and freedom |
Ahmed Farooqui
A fictitious true history of no:36 For this project I have created a video narrative that spans the lifetime of the house and tells the story of no:36 through the lives of the individuals who have lived here over the past 140 years. I have used facts as a scaffold but without being limited by them and allowing my imagination to add colour, detail and drama to the story. |
Livia Garcia
Undercover Mr and Mrs Gue This work is inspired by a letter from a wig company found in the house when the current inhabitants first moved into no:36. . The letter is believed to have been addressed to the previous occupiers of no:36, Mr and Mrs Gue. Through an interview I conducted with the current inhabitants, I learned that Mr and Mrs Gue had lived a very reclusive life that was closed off from the outer world. Through this work, I wish to bring the couple out of the house so that they can connect with their neighbourhood. |
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Jeanette Abi Khalil
The two wise men My work is a play on the flood of unsolicited mail received daily through a residential letter-box. By creating an opening for legitimate mail, we unwillingly afford access to junk-mail. Likewise, when we open our hearts to others, we not only make a gateway for love, kindness and meaning, but leave ourselves vulnerable to malice, poison and the trivial. therefore we must find the wisdom to constantly filter the helpful from the harmful, the desirable from the undesirable, the useful from the noxious. |
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