Homebody envisions the afterlife of a human body. This sited work invites the listener to lie in their own bed, in their own home and imagine it is their body, surrounded by familiar objects.
This new audio work imagines how the human body decomposes over days, years and centuries, whilst personal and social connections disintegrate. It visualises the traces that remain once nature repossesses the place we call home. The work is drawn from forensic case studies, combined with intimate observations of the home, and research on the fungi, bacteria and insects that pull the body into other ecologies.
The listener is invited to lie in the comfort of their own home and listen via earphones to fully experience Homebody.
Grey Granular Fist (2017), which explores the process of human and material decay, in the museum or gallery space, is exhibited in The London Open 2018 in Gallery 1. Both works are part of a series entitled Afterlife.
Warning: This work contains descriptions of human decomposition and is recommended for ages 12 and over.
Written by: French & Mottershead
Script Adviser: Tony White
Voice: Lily Lowe Myers
Audio post-production: Pascal Wyse
Science Adviser: Dr Carolyn Rando, Forensic Anthropologist, UCL
Supported by The Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England
French & Mottershead (Rebecca French b. 1973, London, UK; Andrew Mottershead b. 1968, Manchester, UK) are an artist duo that use photography, video, sound, installation and online interventions to reframe our relationships with familiar locations.
