Cellakabin

This artwork featured in Give Me Shelter (2009). A Meadow Arts commission. 

In the dense woodland near the stable block stands a modest wooden hut. Evoking a hermit’s hut, a birdwatcher’s hide or a child’s play house, it provides a safe space for contemplation and conjures up romantic ideals of harmony with nature. However, this shelter is not all that it might seem. A cavity beneath it mirrors the space above, but it holds darker associations – a cellar, a safe hiding space or perhaps a cell. Henry Krokatsis has utilised the bricked deep hollow that was once the stately home’s icehouse to create this upside down space for Cellkabin. Although there is still an implicit sense of safety in this concealed space, it is one of safety from an imminent and ultimate threat, but might also be a threat in itself.

Image: Henry Krokatsis, Cellkabin, wood, installation view, Give Me Shelter, Attingham Park, 2009. Image courtesy Meadow Arts. 

 

About the artist

Henry Krokatsis

Henry Krokatsis exhibited in House of Beasts, Attingham Park, 2012, and Give Me Shelter, Attingham Park, 2009, both commissioned by Meadow Arts.

Image: Henry Krokatsis, Incorruptible Fawn, installation view, House of Beasts, Attingham Park, 2012. Image courtesy Meadow Arts.