At Home in a High-Rise
Like many people, I am naturally nosy. I am curious about other people’s lives and lifestyles - what they do, what they think, how they behave – and I’m endlessly fascinated by how living spaces reflect not just fashion, but people’s personalities and their aspirations.
So it was with some glee that I headed off today to a recently discovered exhibition at the Geffrye Museum. I like the Geffrye’s collections on British domestic interiors at the best of times, but they currently have a photographic exhibition on called At Home in a High-Rise which is perfect for the voyeur such as myself.
Photographer Mark Cowper has taken 46 photographs of his neighbours in Ethelburga Tower, a high-rise block of flats in the London suburb of Battersea, where he has lived for the last 20 years. Apparently, he just rocked up at people’s doors and convinced them to let him photograph their living rooms, there and then – with no tidying up time. Because he took all the photos from the same position in the same room in practically identical flats, the images really do highlight the different ways people choose to decorate their homes.
The introductory panel to the exhibition claimed that the pictures celebrate the diversity of British life and this is true, but they also point to some other more mundane similarities:
- the influence of IKEA. At least a third of the photos included furniture clearly purchased from the Swedish monolith (yes, it takes one to know one).
- decades of Dulux ads and home improvement shows telling us to be adventurous with paint colours have clearly failed to have any impact.
- depressingly few of the living rooms have any sign of books, music or art in them.
- loads of the residents live in complete pigstyes.
- but despite this, a surprising number of them are optimistic enough to have white sofas.
- most people have a bigger telly than us.
Check out some of the photographs here.
Tags: go see this
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 am
Are they private flats ? can’t say I’ve painted many rented flats. and no you can’t see my flat! and I was thinking about Ikea and realised I haven’t been for 8 years this sept no big deal just haven’t been.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:12 am
I think that most of the flats are private now, and a chunk of them are still public housing – no excuses not to paint!
I do have a picture in my head of what your flat is like BLTP – a kitchen with lots of interesting ingredients and a lounge room overflowing with records, a table with a laptop and some space/robot paraphenalia. Plus of course your bird feeder!
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Hmm, we were torn between the Geffrye and the Garden Museum when we hit the smoke last week. Seems like we made the wrong choice as that sounds infinitely more interesting than a load of watercolours of plants in Prince Charles’s garden.
For the record, our lounge is on the orange side of teracotta, with an Ikea coffee table, wall of CDs (the books are all in the dining room, other than those in use) and a Wii fit looking all neglected in one corner. Oh, and the sofa is brown.
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Oh you must go to the Geffrye, Simon, if you haven’t already been. It’s a real gem of a museum and (ironically) their garden is much better than the Museum of Gardening’s.
We have reddy/orangey + cream walls too in the lounge and an IKEA coffee table. The room would look incredibly spacious if we could part with all the vinyl, books, stereo equipment etc.
And sorry BLTP, after reading that last comment I wrote, I’d like to reassure you that I am not some kind of freaky stalker deconstructing your flat.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
No probs your description was pretty accurate you missed the large struffed bear and my collection of Dresden porcelain….
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I hope you’re joking about that large stuffed bear, otherwise I’ll have to insist on a photo!
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
That’s just round the corner from me. I can quite the believe the lack of culture.
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Surberbia may be boring but i still thank my lucky stars i’ve never had to live in a high rise. Home is what you make it i guess but i still shudder at the thought of being stuck 20 floors up, no garden, paper thin walls !!!. May be i’ve just been in the wrong ones eh ?.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I LOVE the sound of this exhib Cocktails! How interesting, peepin in to everyones front room for a good ‘ol nose! Will put this on my ever growing list of ‘must do’s’. You are so right about the impact of Ikea… When they first came over her it was seen as quite snobby to have Ikea stuff… i guess they only had the one outlet at the time too, which made it more ’special’. But these days it’sd the new MFI isn’t it?! There stuff is so bleedin cheep too.
P
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Carl, it’s very trendy to live in an ex-council 60s concrete block that everyone else was desparate to move out of years ago, you know! The views might be the only good thing about it though – certainly not the constantly breaking lifts and lack of greenery. There are some nice high-rises though, like the posh Highpoint in Hampstead with private tennis courts, swimming pools and modernist art fulled foyers – I could probably cope with that if I HAD to.
Piley, a fellow nosy parker eh? You would like the exhibition then – but get over there quick as I think it closes end August.
I don’t have a huge problem with IKEA (I can’t they do shelves which are perfect for 12″s!) but I would love to know if this rumour is true – IKEA is more expensive in the UK then anywhere else in Europe because they have pretty much zero competition. Anyone know?
August 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I love the Geffrye museum. And I’ve just enrolled on a history of furniture design and upholstery course starting in September. The Geffrye museum is partly to blame for this!
August 4th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Ooh, that sounds interesting Roman Empress. Product design is fascinating stuff, I’ve love that. Not sure how my clumsy hands would cope with upholstery though! Is that a full-time course? And most importantly, do you have furniture to practice on?!
August 4th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I’m not 100% sure what to expect yet in terms of providing own materials and furniture. It was all quite impulsive to be honest. I do like the relative solitaryness of making something. I’m sure the course will be useful even if it doesn’t lead to a change of job, as such. The course is only one day a week. X