Jonathan Baldock: 'My biggest fear is that someone will crawl into it'

Jonathan Baldock's commission for SPACE, My biggest fear is that someone will crawl into it, transforms the building's façade into a grotesque face. Visitors to the exhibition enter the gallery through a gaping mouth to find a king sized four-poster bed with hand-sewn hangings comprising another face, accompanied by a whispering voice. Combining the formality of the gallery with the intimacy of the bedroom, the exhibition comments on the discomfort of exposing the private, whilst recognising the unexceptional and universal nature of personal experience.

Whilst its title paraphrases a quote from Robert Rauschenberg describing his ‘combine' work, 'Bed' (1955), the exhibition is also Baldock's first overtly autobiographical work. Evoking his own living situation, the visual display is also accompanied by the voice of the artist's mother. Reading from her diaries in a hushed and hurried tone, this voice reflects how the artist's mother has influenced the artist's life as other artists have informed his work.

A commissioned essay on My biggest fear is that someone will crawl into it written by Martin Hargreaves is available online and at SPACE.