Exploring the history of the Australian home told through household objects, furniture and design classics, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and the Penrith Regional Gallery presents The Ideal Home at the Powerhouse Museum until 2 February 2020.
The Ideal Home explores Australian experiences of home and family life across the past 120 years whilst simultaneously addressing contemporary social issues of domestic violence and homelessness.
More than 45 objects and artworks from the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences collection will be on display including furniture, home appliances, architectural models, interior design and everyday domestic objects, with an emphasis on mid-century Australian design.
Highlight pieces on display include The Seat of Love and Hate (pictured) – an 18th century French love settee upholstered with machine embroidered fabric by acclaimed artist eX de Medic; and Karla Dickens series of appliqued straight-jackets, Bound – exploring the experience of some women as ‘bound’ to the home by domesticity, family, financial dependence and addiction;
Also on display will be a piano donated to the Museum on behalf of the people who lived at the Martin Place safe space, a tent city set up for homeless people; and an architectural model representing a suburb display for Ropes Crossing in Western Sydney.
There will also be two new additions to the exhibition: Prevail – a group of eight small vessels displayed in a still life arrangement by Adelaide-based ceramic artist Kirsten Coelho; and Sydney designer Charles Wilson’s flamboyant red leather upholstered Swivel Chair.
“So much of our lives take place in our homes, around our furniture and the household items we interact with everyday,” said Powerhouse Museum Chief Executive Lisa Havilah. “This exhibition delves deeper into these “everyday” objects to not only explore the connection between design and technology with Australian history, but to also address social issues that continue to present in home life today.”
The Ideal Home
Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo (Sydney)
Exhibition continues to 2 February 2020
Free after museum entry
For more information, visit: maas.museum for details.
Image: eX de Medici, The Seat of Love and Hate, 2017-2018 – photo by Rob Little