Last year I saw the Ai Weiwei’s exhibition at the Royal Academy. His installation S.A.C.R.E.D consisted of six large plain iron boxes. To see inside the viewer has to peer inside small windows which are situated on each side as well as above the box. Each box is a nightmarish uncanny depiction of the brutality of Ai’s time locked inside a cell. What was his ‘home’ for 81 days is shown in perfect detail.
Ai Weiwei (2011) S.A.C.R.E.D [Six-part work composed of six dioramas – Supper, Accusers, Cleansing, Ritual, Entropy, Doubt [fibreglass, iron, oxidised metal, wood, polystyrene, sticky tape] 377 × 198 × 153 cm
Looking inside S.A.C.R.E.D
The outside of each S.A.C.R.E.D room just has a door and the number of the cell -1135. I want the outside of my own rooms to be featureless apart from the viewing windows. However, I do like the idea of putting a house number on the outside, or maybe a house name.
I have experimented with different sized holes and found that to see inside the room you only need the smallest of windows.
The floorboards are now finished and I am pleased with the way they look against the printed wallpaper.
I think I might also add skirting board. The break between the floor and the walls will give the mugshot imagery on the walls more impact. Other things to make are pictures for the walls, a fireplace and a door. I am also thinking of adding in a wall behind which is a secret space.
