The image of modern domestic life made its debut when Richard Hamilton asked Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? (1956). Since then, the contemporary home continues to be analysed and expanded upon in art. In Australia, Howard Arkley paid considerable attention to the suburban home. Most recently, Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy continue this investigation with their large-scale installations. Based in Sydney, the collaborating artists explore the influence of the home on one’s personal being by re-imagining our typical perception of domesticity.
Cordeiro and Healy express their unique concept of ‘home’ with complex and often overwhelming installations. Their installation Not Under My Roof (2008) forms an epic map of memories and family history. Rather than building a representation, in this work they utilise a real, pre-loved Queenslander house, and in doing so, visualise the home’s interior narrative. The work scales the walls of Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA); in its size, it forces the viewer to really consider the home’s presence, and question what qualities the house conveys. The size is essential to the artists’ concept—had they used a scaled model, or even an oversized painting, they would not have created the same impact. Cordeiro and Healy explore the meaning of ‘home’ as a product of memories and histories shared—the intergenerational knowledge that becomes engraved in a home, giving one a sense of belonging and place.
Originally a Millmerran farm residence dubbed ‘Linaine’, the house was stripped of its walls and roof, yet otherwise left untouched.1 The shadows of furniture seared into the flooring of the house spark imagination in the viewer. We find ourselves asking, who lived there, what were they... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
Cordial Home Project, 2003 (process). Materials: entire house. Photograph Liz Ham.
Cordial Home Project, 2003. Materials: entire house. Installation view Artspace, Sydney. Photograph Liz Ham.
