2011
An installation at St Philips Building, Sheffield st, London, WC2A 2EX
An exhibition to mark the life of the St Philips Building was quickly organised before its imminent demolition. Dominic Wilcox was one of those asked to create something in the buliding that would reference the buildings history in some way. The St Philips building started in 1903 as a workhouse Infirmary for the poor before going on to be a hospital for women and then bought by the London School of Economics.
On visiting St Philips Dominic found the last remaining office, left abandonded and intact.
“I thought that it was as if the room was waiting to die and I wanted to ease its transition from this world. My thought for the office was to leave it intact but to remove the colour from every aspect in the room (via white paint) thereby taking away a layer of reality and connection to our world as it moves closer to its imminent death.” Dominic Wilcox
via Dominic Wilcox
Waiting Room from Dominic Wilcox on Vimeo.
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I thought the use of white to signify impending doom leaves a very deep impression in people’s mind.
This treatment of physical, visually seen (directly) “whitespace”, I perceive as something portraying reality instead
It is that kind of uncertainty, recalling what exactly the colour of the object is..as if recalling someone close to you leaving, having flashbacks memories on the interaction between you and the person that passed away. almost colourless, fading away. It is the non-existence of the person in future that makes one person ache.
It is the memories and connections we have with the person/object that make us ache.
Somewan 