Having been a fan of Rachel Whiteread for many years, I was elated to experience her Retrospective exhibition at the Tate Britain. I didn’t expect it to be as thought provoking as it was. I just couldn’t help but be drawn to the graveyard of ghosted objects, hearkening to the confines they once occupied. I say this because I felt there was a sense of passing that permeated the room. In my mind, each object cast represents a memorial of what once was. And it is this which I find fascinating about the process of Whiteread’s work; in order to create what she does, the vessel used must be destroyed (more often than not) for the genesis of the cast which is a parasitic entity to a certain degree. Yet in the same way, turning these objects into art elevates them with further purpose and value. Encapsulating these things, as they were, at that moment in time – a freeze frame if you will. In addition to this, the medium of casting manages to provide a certain significance to the void of space. Those void spaces, now in relief, in tandem with the vacancy and indent of things that were, which are now absent immediately made me think of the Bebelplatz book burning memorial in Berlin (see figures 1 & 2). The absence of the books, and the emptiness of those shelves are much more profound than filling those voids could ever be. Moreover, by casting voids Whiteread manages to make the space that once was, now impenetrable and perceptible providing an awareness to it, that could’ve been taken for granted. Observing our environment with this inverted view offers a fresh perception of space as well as an appreciation for materiality through the meticulous impressions casts can achieve.
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| Figure 1: Untitled [Bookshelves] by Rachel Whiteread, (2003) Source: Margaret Belle |
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| Figure 2: Bebelplatz, Berlin Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Berlin_DenkmalBuecherverbrennung_BookBurningMemorial_Bebelplatz.jpg/1280px-Berlin_DenkmalBuecherverbrennung_BookBurningMemorial |
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