Saskia Olde Wolbers
Yes, these Eyes are the Windows
3 May–22 June 2014
Artangel
87 Hackford Road
London SW9 0RE
The Georgian terraced house in Brixton where Vincent van Gogh lived from 1873 to 1874 has stood vacant since 2012. Its last residents moved there in 1950, and in the 1970s played host to the media circus prompted by a local postman’s assertion that the 19-year-old gallery clerk Van Gogh had lodged in the house.
Artist Saskia Olde Wolbers’ audio installation is led by her own fictional narrative set in the 1970s when the area was being considered for demolition by the Greater London Council, but due to Van Gogh’s fleeting period of residence was saved. Her story emerges from a piecing together of information gleaned from local residents, council archives and tabloid headlines telling of Van Gogh’s apparent love affair with his landlady’s daughter.
Olde Wolbers is known for her short narrative videos, filmed in model sets. For Yes, these Eyes are the Windows, she has treated 87 Hackford Road as a ready-made set from which visitors will hear the house itself recall overheard conversations and events that question the mythologizing of Van Gogh and the ensuing impact on the house’s owners.
For Yes, these Eyes are the Windows, Olde Wolbers has worked with theatre director Lu Kemp and sound designer Elena Peña to develop an audio installation inside the house.
Yes, these Eyes are the Windows is commissioned and produced by Artangel, with the kind permission of James Wang and Alice Childs.
