Home is a comfortable, heartwarming, and safe space. Yet, from all kinds of literature and movies, our home also frequently turns into a scene of crimes or supernatural events. They shake our faith to consider home as an absolutely safe residence, which may originate from the loss of control over a familiar space. Is there an uncanny corner at home where you tend to sense a note of inexplicable suspicion? This strange feeling may stay and linger, or it may be just an instantaneous reaction. Commissioned by the design research magazine DEMO, Anne designed a travel exhibition for their covid-related project ‘Uncanny Home’ in partnership with the fashion label 3ge3.

‘Uncanny Home’ is a photography exhibition where no photography can be seen upon arrival. The concept is inspired by Sigmund Freud’s writing on uncanny feelings about mirrors, shadows, and souls. Since Covid, everyone has been forced to spend more time at home which we tend to take for granted as a familiar and mundane space. However, Freud wrote about the uncanny aspect of this intimate space. Instead of disguising each photograph, Anne designed a custom-made 3D printed shelf installation to hold each individual uncanny feeling. Each piece of photography is folded and placed vertically inside the gaps. The exhibition is a journey of discovering different notions of home.

Prior to the exhibition, the public was invited to explore their home and record an uncanny scene or moment. Each submission includes a photo of the scene and a paragraph of writing. 86 pieces of ‘Uncanny Home’ were placed inside a series of modular 3D printed shelves made from recycled polystyrene. The modular shelf installation was stacked together to form a volume and individually hung from the ceiling to create rows of uncanny feelings from strangers. The shelves were designed by Anne and made by 3D printing furniture manufacturer Supernatural. A mix of bright yellow tones shouts for audiences’ attention to rush over and look closer. Audiences were able to randomly slide out a piece and view them from an intimate distance. The process of returning a piece of work and moving on to the next becomes a simple act of respectfulness. The exhibition also included a section of readings of authors and philosophers who wrote about uncanny feelings residing at home, including Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire, The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann, etc.

* Commissioned by design research journal DEMO