A scaffolding-like construction brings together women freed from their Roman contexts and a lar – the protector of the household. What unites these figures in conversation? They have all been found as remains of a human catastrophe in Herculaneum: an ancient town carved out of a modern city, that still funnels light into ruins laid-bare.

Brought to the light, surfaces and textures present themselves plainly, while light mingles in the crevices of matter. Images flicker in projected light and a scanner sees space as a cloud of points.

In the House of the Beautiful Courtyard in Herculaneum, Fiona Anderson³ talks about ‘how histories combine’ in this space; caught between the past and the present, ‘we are rarely independent structures’. Over in Pompeii fictional historical artists discuss practices for the future.⁴ At the Great North Museum: Hancock - just over the road from here - careful thoughts are given to secret-sacred objects and whether or not to display them, and, if so, how?⁵
The sun goes down and the sky opens up.
How do we mourn our dead?

3. Anderson, F. 2019. We are rarely independent structures. Expanded Interiors at Kerber, Bielefeld / Berlin, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-7356-0641-9

4. Huber, C. 2019. Art, architecture and life: a fictional panel discussion. Expanded Interiors at Herculaneum and Pompeii, Kerber, Bielefeld / Berlin, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-7356-0641-9

5. https://greatnorthmuseum.org.uk/collections/sensitive-collections-and-repatriation

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All photos by Colin Davison ‌‌