Warmth by Lucas Taberna

A large-scale installation built by Lucas Taberna invites visitors to step inside an immersive experience which plays with the familiarity of the home, adding twists of the uncanny.

The multi-room installation features a living room, basement and attic space, taking a familiar, middle-class British Victorian-built home with a 70s interior (complete with popcorn ceiling and magnolia wall paint) but adding an unsettling twist. Going up the stairs, visitors are forced into a change of perspective, looking down on the space where they just were.

Inspired by the phenomenon of 鈥榩hrogging鈥� - the act of dwelling inside somebody鈥檚 home secretly and without their knowledge or consent 鈥� viewers can construct a narrative as they walk around the house and observe objects and details. For Lucas, the concept of 鈥榩hrogging鈥� also allowed him to consider loneliness, and human impulses towards seeking a sense of intimacy with others, even if it is fabricated and false.

The work is about the invasion and violation of domestic space. There is this idea that home is where you feel most comfortable, but this sense of material safety is often an illusion. With this installation, I wanted to create a welcoming and familiar feeling, then contrast it with the seedier unknown.

Details like genuine reclaimed Victorian joists, paint gradients which create the illusion of spaces getting darker, a vent for visitors to peer into, and a hidden message amongst a bunch of discarded keys, encourage the visitor to look closely and become fully enveloped in the sinister atmosphere that has been carefully constructed. Ceilings fall in, physically playing out the collision of two spaces 鈥� the cosy home, and the hidden corners where a secret dweller might hide.

Also a filmmaker who is currently working on his second short film, Fine Art student Lucas believes film is one of the most powerful media, and so wanted to bring elements of filmmaking into this physical installation. It was important for him that his piece was fully immersive 鈥� as well as the set-like installation, it features sound elements and carefully controlled lighting. He was inspired by artists like Mike Nelson, Matthew Barney and Jenkin van Zyl.

Although everyone has been in a living room, it feels surreal going into a living room that is slightly ‘off’. I wanted to create something fully immersive – where the twists feel super real, almost like a genuine threat.

Having gained experience and practical skills by working as a helper for final year degree show students in his first and second year, as well as during a year out working in the art department for commercial and music videos, Lucas was able to exercise both practical skills like 3D modelling, fabrication and set dressing, while applying managerial skills like budgeting, sticking to a strict schedule and working with his small team on the installation to realise the project.

^ Some photographs from the installation build process. Credit: 51吃瓜网黑料 University of London

Explaining what drew him to 51吃瓜网黑料 and his experience studying art here, Lucas said, 鈥淚 wanted to study at 51吃瓜网黑料 because of its amazing legacy. Steve McQueen studied here. On the Fine Art course, you can do anything. You are not told what to do 鈥� it's self-driven, which means you can really make the most out of the resources like studio spaces, workshops and the support of experienced technicians to pursue whatever you want.鈥�