Between February and June 2017 the residents of Space36 invited seven artists to develop site responsive artworks over a four month period exploring how their idea of home and belonging has been affected by Brexit.  Some of the artist originated in the UK while others were from EU countries but were resident in the UK.

The focus of the exhibition was on the personal rather than the political. Starting with their gut reaction to Brexit the artists explored different psychological aspects of Brexit and the feeling of dislocation and being unhomed.  They took apart some of the unconscious associations that we have with the idea of “home”, such as security, comfort and conviviality, to create psychological unease and make the audience look afresh at familiar objects, relationships and spaces.

The exhibition was open over the weekends of 10/11 and 17/18 June, 12-6pm.

The exhibition contained 15 sculptures, sound and light installations, interactive artworks and performances. Some are featured below.

Louise Scillitoe-Brown
Soft, installation

Just re-arranging the deckchairs – well the soft furnishings at least.  We don’t want you to be too comfortable, perhaps a little isolated. Plumped up, over-stuffed, over here!  Don’t push us off – we’re here to stay – but you can join us on the sofa, bit of a squeeze, but squash in.   Louise Scillitoe-Brown plays with domestic soft and hard furnishing to express her unease at the changes ahead.

Liana Bortolozzo
Bittersweet, Video

Irony and sarcasm are used as a vehicle to confront Brexit, which is perceived as a deeply personal concern. The feelings aroused by the current oppressive situation are expressed through bodily reactions. The images intentionally challenge the viewer to take up a position: either to watch and take a stand or leave and pretend nothing has happened.   The soundtrack suggests the reason why certain choices are made and drives the scenes in a hopeless (or hopeful) procession.

Ahmed Farooqui
But for the darkness, installation

Ahmed Farooqui's installation features keys as passports into other people's lives. Ceremonies mark their giving and taking.
"I trust you", "you belong". 
Yet they are secretive - lurkers in the dark, in pockets and purses.
So, now: multiplied. multicoloured, set free, tinklers in sunshine and rain.  They are there for the taking.

Esperanza Gomez-Carrera
Feeling Safe, participatory work

'Feeling Safe' is  a guided meditation that will take you on a journey to help you release your fears and improve your confidence. With all the negativity we are bombarded with through media and television it is important for us not to lose ourselves. On a deeper level though, these feelings of safety, comfort and peace come from within.  And, because these feelings come from within, they are always available to us. However, Is this really true? Can we be sure? Take the journey with her.

Liz Brown
Precarious, participatory work

Liz Brown's installation centres on a doll's house made for her by her father.  Hanging in the air, off kilter, it becomes a depository of other people's emotions as words and images of what people love about their home come pouring out.

Constanze Schweda
The Toddler, installation

Fuelled by anxiety over immigration and nationalist ideas of sovereignty, many people were led to believe the fairy tale of a reborn Britain,  Put on your Union Jack shorts and take the plunge!   The Brexit diver on top of a Victorian house, built at a time when Britain’s Empire was flourishing, a toddler at dizzying heights with no safety net below, is symbolic of the sullen, self-destructive attitude and the neck breaking process that is ahead.

Mario Varas Sanchez
Self-weighting rings, installation
The exercise rings, facing each other in opposition yet needing each other to make the apparatus work, are a metaphor of the UK at the moment.  Mario suggests that the country's survival depends on each of us going beyond our instinctive responses and learning to live with each other again.