the table

I have been interested for sometime in responding to outside environments and the transitory nature of actions in non art spaces. Now I am in a museum setting, a non art space again, an establishment dedicated to a history of the home.

I find myself reflecting on processes influenced by home and the domestic environment - the everyday home environment removed into a space of collection. The ornamental interior of the home and the everyday dialogue is placed behind glass and in the case of natural specimens and textiles, put through a freezing process to kill off pests and fungus. The museum objects are no longer functioning objects.

I find myself collecting chinaware and cutlery, reinvigorating objects with daily use outside their setting, the art is in the act of collecting, the act of placing the objects on a table; the using of the objects. I am trying to reflect on the object definitions, my relationship to them and their use in another setting beyond the home. We as a group act in the role of communicator, curator, facilitator, performer and communicator.

I have been working with the idea of the table as some sort of altar, a sort of structure which serves as a focal point, a place of worship or ceremony, which could be tied in with the sharing of food of communication and dialogue of ritual and rites. The use of water salt bread and wine are all part of the table and link into the notion of the altar space but in a more democratic and ceremonial way. I also see the table as a stage with the players or the ‘performers’ at the table, surrounded by the props and scenery of objects – plates, saucers, spoons and forks.

I can’t ignore the rich history of gender, the domestic, the repetitive nature and labour of the everyday.