Archaeologist, journalist and artist Christine Finn opened up her parents' house in Deal last year
and sparked fascination and nostalgia. For architecture08, Christine has taken exploration of the family
home and its meaning a stage further.
Mantle Pieces
Mantle Pieces is a project about an ordinary domestic feature, one which is almost as varied as there are homes. The mantle over the fire has long been the place for display, memory and reminder - from the gilt-framed invitations, to family photographs, and car keys. The objects gather over time - either as part of a considered display, or an ad hoc accumulation. My own family mantle prompted me to think how many people have captured this iconic piece of domestic biography.
For architecture08, I was invited to take this further. I gathered a collection of random objects from charity shops and
seashore, piled them in the hearth of my family home in Deal, Kent, and invited visitors to make their own mantle stories
from them. I photographed the results - you can see many of them here - and the resulting prints are both visitors' art
work and a piece of narrative. The all-white mantle in a strange home encouraged visitors to rethink their relationship to
the mantle, using one object or many (most popular objects were a stone seated Buddha, a dried starfish, and a fake plaster
ammonite). Some mantles incorporated objects visitors had brought with them, such as watches, photos, or religious items.
Others went into my garden to gather just the right piece of found object. Two sessions with professional storytellers
helped people think how the mantles could have a life of their own, outside the family. People wrote about their experience
in the visitors' book. Their comments reflect a similar range to the mantle stories they told.
Christine Finn
Click on a photo to enlarge it.
All photos credit Christine Finn.
