Week3—Inspiration for the site from the lecture by Fran Cottrell
Through Week 3 Fran Cottell’s lecture, I was inspired by his exhibition venue. Fran Cottell is an artist based in London, known for her experimental installations and performances in unconventional spaces. Her work often challenges traditional exhibition formats, transforming everyday environments into artistic experiences. Since 2001, Cottell has used her own home as the venue for experimental art projects, creating a series of site-specific installations called ‘House Projects’. By introducing architectural interventions into her home, she blurs the boundaries between private and public spaces, inviting the audience to participate and explore the relationship between everyday life and art. So I also wanted to curate an exhibition in an unconventional space. Since I wanted to do an exhibition on feminism, I thought that choosing a similar exhibition venue would bring me closer to the audience, rather than just displaying the artworks.
Of course, I also found similar other cases. The exhibition ‘The Body as a Centerpiece’ has given me a lot of inspiration in terms of curating venues and forms. The exhibition was held from March 31 to May 26, 2019, in Miami at Supplement Projects, located in Miami’s Buena Vista neighbourhood in a 1940s home. This choice breaks with the traditional white cube gallery model, transforming a private home into a public exhibition space and blurring the boundaries between the public and private spheres.
The neighbourhood is located in a community in Miami that is undergoing gentrification, surrounded by the intersection of luxury shopping districts and impoverished neighbourhoods. By setting up the exhibition here, the curator aims to explore the intersection of the lives of residents from different socioeconomic backgrounds and how domestic spaces reflect identity and social dynamics. The works in the exhibition are directly integrated into various rooms of the house, such as the living room, kitchen and bedroom. This arrangement interweaves the artworks with the daily living environment and enhances the audience’s thinking about the relationship between domestic space and self.
I think this is a form that can be borrowed because the theme I chose is feminism, and I am also reminded that in Asia, the words ‘family’ and ‘women’ are inseparable. Perhaps in many developed countries today, women may have truly broken free from the shackles of the family. By family, I don’t mean a relationship of kinship, but rather being bound by the family. Some third-world countries underdeveloped regions, or countries where this kind of bondage is deeply rooted, still find it difficult to change this situation.
The exhibition’s curatorial concept explores the notion of the domestic space as the ‘backstage’ of life. It focuses on how the home nourishes, protects, and challenges our identity while also breeding ground for private insecurities and fears. This in-depth curatorial theme guides the audience to reflect on the complex relationship between the family and the self.
Then, I also hope to use such a venue and background to make the audience reflect on the complex relationship between family and women. At the same time, I think this format is also highly feasible for me to curate because choosing a similar venue is not very expensive in terms of budget, and it can create the concept I want to express. Perhaps the space does not need to be too big, in which case this exhibition can perhaps be shown in various places around the world.
