SECRET LIFE OF THE HOME
Gallery at the Science Museum, London
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DECORATION
Despite my preference for plain and minimal colour and
lighting, I was a bit worried the gallery might just look too boring, so decided it should
have some sort of decoration to make the space more entertaining. I initially toyed with
the idea of having an overhead conveyor slowly moving suspended domestic appliances round
the gallery, but abandoned it, deciding that it would be noisy and distracting and would
quickly become boring to look at. However this lead to the idea of having individual
appliances suspended from the ceiling that would spring to life occasionally. This fitted
the general idea of showing how everyday mundane machines could be surprising and
interesting, and fitted the brief to make the gallery more appealing to children. It also
fitted with my idea of the gallery at first sight looking traditional and straightforward,
but being full of surprises. Even better I already had a number of new looking domestic
machines, test failures given to me by the Consumer Association. Will Jackson and I spent
a happy autumn making 12 strange objects including a microwave with a poodle trapped
inside, a set of flying hot water bottles, a toilet with a plumber who popped out of the
bowl and the cistern, and a tele with a model of the museum director inside (so he could
keep an eye on the gallery). |
