The Ideal Home exhibition opens at the Powerhouse Museum
921949 Chair and stool, wood synthetic webbing metal, designed by Douglas Snelling, manufactured by Functional Products, Sydney
2019/9/1 Ceramic group (8), 'Prevail', porcelain, designed and made by Kirsten Coelho, Adelaide, South Australia, 2018
The Ideal Home exhibition opens at the Powerhouse Museum on 8 June, exploring the history of the Australian home told through household objects, furniture and design classics. Co-presented by Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and Penrith Regional Gallery, the exhibition explores Australian experiences of home and family life across the past 120 years whilst simultaneously addressing contemporary social issues of domestic violence and homelessness.
More than 45 objects and artworks from the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences collection will be on display including furniture, home appliances, architectural models, interior design and everyday domestic objects, with an emphasis on mid-century Australian design.
There will be two new additions to the exhibition this June; ‘Prevail’, a group of eight small vessels displayed in a still life arrangement by Adelaide-based ceramic artist Kirsten Coelho and Sydney designer Charles Wilson’s flamboyant red leather upholstered Swivel Chair.
Highlight pieces on display include ‘The Seat of Love and Hate’ an 18th century French love settee upholstered with machine-embroidered fabric by acclaimed artist eX de Medic; Karla Dickens series of appliqued straightjackets ‘Bound’, exploring the experience of some women as ‘bound’ to the home by domesticity, family, financial dependence and addiction; a piano donated to the Museum on behalf of the people who lived at the Martin Place safe space, a tent city set up for homeless people; and an architectural model representing a suburb display for Ropes Crossing in Western Sydney.
Powerhouse Museum Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said: So much of our lives take place in our homes, around our furniture and the household items we interact with everyday. This exhibition delves deeper into these “everyday” objects to not only explore the connection between design and technology with Australian history, but to also address social issues that continue to present in home life today.
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