Rosie Leventon

THE FRONT ROOM

human hair art

The gallery produced a linked series of conceptual installations by five different artists in their independent artist-led space the front room which is attached to the salt gallery in Hayle, Cornwall. Each installation was shown in the dedicated installation space for two months. The series of exhibitions was united by the idea of women in the front room. The front room of the house is traditionally where the domestic interior meets the outside world. It is used for formal occasions for work and for key life events. The contents of the room can symbolise and represent the aspirations and personality of the occupier of the room. The domestic setting combined with an outward outlook resonates strongly with women, whose life experience often demands a similar approach. Five female artists from around the UK and Europe have been chosen in line with the gallery's selection policy. Their proposals for women in the front room are conceptually and artistically powerful. My idea for the show was very simple. I wanted to create a very ordinary room, and then to introduce something quite extraordinary at one side. A kind of strange wall that appears to be slithering or shuffling through where you least expect it. Its surfaces are covered by thick and dense human hair which smelt of the kind of hair products that are used by both women and men. The waves of the wall increase as they go to the left a bit like a claustrophobic curtain.

Materials: Human hair, armchairs, TV, coffee table, books coke cans etc.

Dimensions: 2.17 x 4.52 x 3.8 m