Parlour Parlëur

The Main Gallery is transformed into another world with Parlour Parlëur a new project by the ArtHitects (Gary Carsley and Renjie Teoh). Taking the parlour as a distinct social site that combines both the public and private, the artists have constructed a dynamic space for personal relationships and ritual in a visually stunning site-specific architectural experience.

The ArtHitects draw on histories of artmaking, architecture and practices of personal memory-making to propose new physical and symbolic spaces for dialogue to unfold. In Parlour Parlëur, thousands of overlapping A4 photocopies are pasted on the Gallery walls, creating a scene that is both theatre spectacle and optical illusion, merged with rich imagery drawn from the Gallery’s collection of art, furniture and the gardens.

Historically, the parlour was a space within the home to entertain guests and for conversation. However, over time its purpose gave way to the living room as a site for family rituals and gathering, and as our ways of socialising have changed. The parlour was also a place to receive guests and was the most public of private spaces in a domestic environment.