the double figure of Freud as the door/and the doorkeeper – invoked by Derrida writing on hospitality

At the Passover table the door is left open for the possible return of the prophet Elijah. As a child I remember a distinct sense of fear tinged with excitement at the possibility of a stranger appearing in the room - crossing the threshold from the outside world into this internal living space. Was I waiting for the appearance of Elijah; the ghost or a living person? I wondered why this wandering person would choose to cross the threshold of our home – or was this person doing the rounds?

The home as a sanctuary was being opened out, with the private territory opened to the possibility of the ‘stranger’ - I like the idea of the domestic living space becoming a space of seasonal and ceremonial ritual transformation.

During our tea parties at the museum the place of looking and viewing without touching, will become an-other landscape for the day. In preparing the space for entry, I have been thinking about drawing on elements of Confucianism and Taoism, but in doing this I am trying to look at the disharmony as well as possibility of harmony in the space. The lecture theatre at the museum will be reconstructed into a place of welcome, made up of foods that may evoke a memory, or provoke a thought, as well as tasting good and bringing pleasure. The table, will be central in enabling the space and visitors to become connected?