It was a strange experience to visit John Soane’s home and view it as a museum. To me, it was more like a horde. It made me begin to imagine how slow movement and travel would have been for the person who lived in this space. But perhaps that is by design, to force the occupant of the space to be vigilant of their surroundings, forcing them to stop and notice. To slow down and admire. It made me think if this effect could be replicated in a painting? Or how an installation of many little paintings could have a similar slowing of the viewer's attention. Maybe if I forced them into a tight corridor then they would have no choice but to view my tiny paintings… 

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That being said, his house is a work of art. The central staircase looks like a spinal cord. The shape of each step is inverted on the underside of the staircase causing them to both catch light and cast shadows. It intimidates yet invites you to venture through the building. The transitional spaces were divided by light. In the central hallway with the void that looks down on the sarcophagus, Soane designed the skylights to have 3 different colours of glass creating invisible/transient walls dividing the space. The space became lighter as you walked into the middle. Then a dark warm light filled the crevices that encased the central void. In these spaces, the objects were smaller and to be viewed in a more intimate setting. This reminded me of lighting in an exhibition and how the intensity of light will create a different atmosphere for the work. 

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There was also a visual journey occurring with the view and Voids you would have to the next room or floor. You would forget about them as you looked at the objects and paintings of this vast collection and then suddenly be brought back to a space that looks familiar. I think that is an interesting concept that can be applied to a series of paintings  - if you think of all the paintings as individual structural elements of a larger structure and then you could leave passages, voids and hues that give you a glimpse of the other paintings… I think this could be an interesting idea. 

 

 

 

 

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Also, the fact that many of the items in the collection weren't behind glass cabinets made them feel from the present - perhaps this is something I’m trying to replicate by making a photo album of 20-year-old photographs.

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When I reflect on the house and what kind of person John Soane was, a man from a humble background, I am reminded of this quote by Alain de Botton:   

 

“What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.” (De Botton, 2014)