work-NND

Noises Next Door

– Windows aren't great at keeping the cold out, but can be used as a fridge in the winter.
– When I open the windows I hear some rustling sound…
– The slugs slither through the window.
– Did you see their trail?
– They are slime monsters, leave a gooey trail and stick like a gloop next to the bed...
– shrinking like mushroom in jerky spasmic braces
– But the sticky brown slime in sink has been there for ages...
– The gross smell of cigarettes and rotten garbage is coming from somewhere behind the numerous takeaway boxes and junk food stacked up on top of each other.
– I wonder where all those cigarette butts end up…
– I spread all the boxes and everything else over the floor. The rooms appeared like a containe, randomly filled with brocken objects.
– Do you think they can see us?
– She had a feeling that she is being watched all the time.
– She closed the window, she didn't want anybody to see her.
– Nothing, she said, it was just the change of temperature, that’s all.
– I was convinced something was not right...
– I had a strange desire to peep and spy on other people.
– But the point is that she is panicking without any reason.
– They all hide behind their speculation and their constant pursuit of security.
– The level of noises coming from the next door causes a lot of disturbances.
– Stop that monstrous voice
– You must not sing at old age, read magazines instead
– I kept repeating: who on earth they think they are.
– The plain wooden chair which one would normally accept as just being there began to be assumed as weapon…
– She suddenly began to explain that she was seeing all kinds of people moving to this area
– They were anxious that they have not been accepted as part of the community
– The new neighbours strolled into the house to escape their newly discovered hostility
– No one saw the actual assault.
– It was for them an anxiety-provoking situation, but they chose not to do anything about it.
– I was aware of inviting misinterpretation, but enjoying the secret of my private joke.
– She was struck by the sinister appearance of the man’s face.
– I imagined she could detect in the deliberately tough expression they assumed...
– with all the excessive fantasies that were lurking within her revengeful mind.
– They are not intended lies, she lies as jokes
– There is no reason to explain it, for explanation is just another form of complexity.
– I looked again at the beautiful room and tried to decide why it was so satisfying,
– There was a divine ordinariness about it.
– As soon as you walk into the house you would be completely disoriented in a second...
– I closed my eyes and opened it again and confronted a shadow and heard a footstep from the corner
– That was dark, albeit...
– The wooden floor was very unstable and hopelessly inadequate.
– I seemed to be always touching it lightly so that it was there for a point of reference.
– More striking yet was a confusion in my perception; things appeared to recede in the darkness…
– It took a long spin, to realise my head is clamouring away from my body
– I suddenly forgot myself and everything happening around me…
– I just stood and stared at the smoke, all sense of self preservation was lost to me.
– No one mentioned the problem. Everybody left the room in silence.
– They were very concerned about the neighbourhood watch scheme.
– We sent a complaint letter against them signed by everyone.
– We are united against the proposed scheme
– Their frustration was accompanied by a sense of horror and dis-empowerment and increase paranoia.
– But surely a problem does not just appear overnight, but develops over many years, perhaps decades, in layer upon layer of rot.
– This is all because the new neighbours let their dog fouling in the communal area.
– They built an obstruction in path of natural light, shining to the opposite building, despite everybody’s opposition

– They complained that they have to check the bins each week to make sure that rubbish bags are in the correct bins.
– The superficial structure is intact.
– It striped away the structure as it was, and left us with an enormous sense of isolation.
– They were evicted because they couldn’t provide proven track record.
– The original documents for housing benefits are somewhere on the table, hidden under the unwanted files and the crushed papers.

The installation "Noises Next Door" is a display created using various materials such as wood, monitors, Kindle Fire tablets, drawings, cardboard boxes, prints, broken furniture and wire. Accompanying the installation is a series of videos and animations that utilize newspaper cuttings, architectural drawings, and text conversations between inhabitants of a social housing community. These animations further emphasise the stark contrast between wealth and poverty in relation to housing, highlighting the homelessness against the backdrop of luxurious architectural designs and urban development.

wood, monitors, kindle fire, drawings, carboard box, prints, wire 159 x 180 x 135cm

Exhibiton:

2019 SIMURG, Gallery Weekend Berlin, CORON Gallery, Berlin

2019 Captives of Habit, Deptford X Fringe, The Old Police Station, London