Hilary Kneale
Shelf-life
Hilary Kneale reproduces traditional domestic kitchen chairs by
carving them from household soap. The chairs have a quality of
the fairy tale; comfortable, humorous and, at the same time,
disturbing. The numerous small shelves covered in furnishing
fabric are host to the private life of this domestic furniture,
which "performs" for the viewer with abandonment from their small
semicircular environments.
As the world around us is characterised by a growing sameness, is
"home" the remaining space that is our own ? The myths of
domesticity, family, privacy and safety are as fragile and open
to outside manipulation as the rest of our culture; an unstable
facade, full of hidden anxiety.
Hilary Kneale is currently working as artist in residence in a
secondary school in Handsworth, Birmingham. The project was
initiated by Birmingham Art Trust and is supported by Birmingham
City Council and West Midlands Arts.