House (making off)

As we can observe in the first sight of the artist´s work, there is a predominant contradiccion to cover and discover. In Embankment 2005, Whiteread made negatives of positives of the inside´s boxes finded in her mother´s house. Once she has the pieces, she tried to construct with them piles, as if there were construction blocks.

With House (1993-95), the artist won the Turner price. She covered the inside and outside of one of the latest victorian english houses in London. It was supposed to be destroyed, as it has happened with every similar ones in the area over the time. Her video diary, describes the comprehension process of the corners, windows and partitions in the house. To cover all of this subtlety with concrete, at first can be a bit disgusting. But, as you can perceive during the work sesions, Whiteread uses this rude material as if it was the most delicated one. As a result, the house seems like a big and impenetrable, mable box.

The piece was finally demolished. Probably she knowed it since the beginnig. This accion reflects the desire of preserve. On one hand, transformig a house in a grey block, a sculpture in the middle of the city. On the other, trying to persuade the goverment to see it like a piece of art.

As in other works, preservation idea comes again in her positive of negatives of inner boxes. This containers usually kept memories and personal experiences. What is before considered unique, now is reproduced. As the victorian house, they are static representations demistyfied.

House. Rachel Whiteread. 1993-95.