The Everyday

24 March - 30 April '11

Marsden Woo Project Space
London EC1

The Marsden Woo Project Space have brought together 3 artists and designers to create work that reconsiders the 'everyday'. As a theme that has been explored in great detail over the past decade, this show adds three new perspectives to the discussion.

Illustrator Raquel Figueira shows a collection of artefacts and photographic images titled Philia, Mania, Phobia (2010). The works started with her discovery of a ‘found’ list of names for obsessions, a catalogue of words covering a bewildering range of neuroses such as basiphilia (an abnormal affection for falling) and chaetophobia (the fear of hair). Each Philia (obsessive affection), Mania (obsessive compulsion) and Phobia (obsessive fear) is represented by an aptly altered everyday object that is shown both before and after use, as evidence of the enactment of a particular obsession.

Printmaker Nick Mobbs’ Dens and Lairs series was inspired by the kinds of temporary structures many children make around the home. In the screenprint Red Leather Sofa (2009) the doorway can be read as a vaginal opening, a notion that sits uncomfortably with the otherwise child-like transformation of a domestic space.

As he comments:

‘I like the idea that a structure made from cushions and blankets might protect us from fears that the brick walls and locked doors of the house cannot keep at bay. However dens are also easily subverted to become lairs, and so harbour the imagined horrors from which we sought to hide ... At the heart of this work is an anxiety, a feeling that we are not secure and our position of safety (physical or emotional) is threatened by some keenly felt but vaguely perceived source.’

Product designer Jon Harrison regards his ‘Dual Purpose’ objects as sketches, assisting him to reflect on how we use objects in everyday life.

He writes:

‘When designing, I believe it’s important not only to focus on the product itself, but to also concentrate on the environment in which the item will live, taking inspiration not only from the function of the object but also from all the varying components which surround and interlock with the product.
The amalgamation of ready-mades and sketched ideas are designed to show a group of possible ‘double products’ which are aimed at reducing the scanning of the environment ... My aim is to allow the consumer to act effortlessly and unconsciously.’ The results can be initially surprising, yet pleasingly functional combinations, such as a doorwedge-cum-umbrella-stand and a roll of masking tape that also serves as a tape measure."

While you are at the project space you can also check out the main gallery, where the Marsden Woo Gallery are showcasing who they believe are the three of the most "up and coming" contemporary ceramists in a show entitled - 'Introducing Kerry Jameson Nao Matsunaga and Dawn Youll'