Showroom is a solo exhibition as part of the HCA Residency at Roodkapje, Rotterdam. It is an installation in situ in a location known as the Schieblock which is full of young creatives. It is situated next to a small and important community garden, called Vredestuin. As a newcomer to the city, the feeling of being uprooted brought a need for a reflection on the location and its immediate surroundings. I could sense parallels with the housing situation in London where I lived previously, as this entire area is planned to be redeveloped and will be replaced by luxury apartments.

 

The installation itself is a showroom apartment, but instead of the immaculate turn-key finish, it is a display and a celebration of all the elements of domestic life, community and the local. I used the showroom as a framework for on-going research into the meaning of home.

 

Ceramic shapes and embroidery depict areas that represent the feeling of home through daily routes, routines and other important rituals that were explored in an earlier guided conversational workshop. These were created using a table with digital maps on which shapes and sculptures were created to represent these routines. Exhibition visitors are invited to look through the window and encounter a view onto the ceramic city-scape made up of the geographical elements arranged into a more abstract idea of a city completely full of meaningful interactions. 

 

The mural is a pattern using aerial view of locations that represent communities that I have encountered or been involved in: such as the Vredestuin (community garden under the Luchtsingel in Rotterdam), Het O-tje (residential complex managed communally by its residents in Charlois), and RUSS - Ladywell (self-build community hub and housing - a project currently ongoing in South London).

 

An estate agent performance during the opening served as an introduction to the work as well as voicing the concerns of the future of the location. The estate agent script was available to read for the duration of the exhibition. 

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Shown at Roodkapje, Rotterdam. Co-curated with Joannette van der Veer.

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