I don’t know how to say this without semi-sounding like a peeping jane, but seeing other people’s homes is one of my most significant sources of joy in life.
How people live, decorate and incorporate their personalities and identities, from belief to culture, family to passion, into their homes immensely fascinates me. This is one of the reasons why I keep this blog; and the same reason that birthed the upcoming Culture Corner project. And this is also why visiting the Museum of Home in London was a life-altering experience for me.
Museum of the Home London
Well, it’s precisely that – a museum showcased people’s homes and belongings with cultures, and stories weaved beautifully into it.
I saw The Museum of Home purely by coincidence while riding bus no 243 in Shoreditch. It was an Almshouse before being converted into a museum in recent years. It has a beautiful compound that was used for different activities. Also, there is a backyard to visit and relax. Entry is free, as in all the museums in London).
In short, the Museum of Home felt like a sanctuary ━ the home to see other houses. In my parallel London life, I would live within walking distance of the museum so I can go there again and again.
Rooms Through Time
The ground-level snapshots of people’s main living space in their homes, spanning over 400 years, from 1870 to 1998. These rooms are based on real London homes. The middle-class owners would have had enough money to decorate and live comfortably.
The earlier ones, on the left wing of the building, reminded me of that Victorian house museum Liz and I visited in Kyneton, Victoria. It was pretty exciting but nothing compared to the later era, located on the right side of the building, right after the gift shop.
Some parts took me back to more than thirty years ago, to my grandparents’ home, to our home in Cirebon and many of my relatives’ homes that I had been to as a child. These modern-era homes were immaculately staged. Each snippet tells a story.
What a joy to see, and I am sure even more to create it. Museum of the Home London, if you ever need an inexperienced museum curator, you know where to reach me.
As much as I loved roaming around the ground floor, the real treat was down the stairs, where I saw the trinkets of people’s lives.
Some of my favourites were the prayer items from different cultures with stories behind them – told by the owners. Then there was a room with a 90s TV set, a working Nintendo, several choices of games (Mario was on) and a love seat. I sat, picked up the console and was immediately transported years back to my cousin’s room, where we spent hours playing and waiting for our turn to play the Nintendo.
Some trinkets reminded me of my grandparent’s house, and I made a note to steal some to bring to Melbourne the next time I visit my parents in Jakarta.
Missing by Kyna Gourley, 2006
One of the mini-exhibitions that spoke to me was Missing. It’s a photographic series showing families with a close relative who went missing from home. Kyna Gourley managed to capture the feelings and stories in this project beautifully. The series was made in collaboration with Missing People, a charity that helps search for missing people and supports them and their families.
Ethelburga Tower Piece in Museum of The Home
This one small exhibition is worth the visit to the museum itself. I stood there dumbfounded, unable to peel my eyes or attention away, staring at rectangular pictures of the homes inside Ethelburga Tower.
In 2008, residents of Ethelburga Tower, a high-rise tower block in Battersea, London, allowed fellow resident Mark Cowper into their flats to photograph their main living spaces. The diverse decoration of these structurally identical rooms shows how taste, personality and identity affect our choices when creating our homes.
It was a masterpiece. I love it so much. Easily one of the highlights of my London trip.
I think I love this because the project felt so relatable (definitely much more relatable than having a poo chamber, I guess). Our home is a reflection of us. It’s an extension of ━ our personalities, beliefs, cultures, food and feelings. It tells stories we sometimes stopped seeing as it has become a part of us, but it’s always there.
I wish I had had a similar opportunity ━ to photograph people’s homes once in this lifetime. Mark, if you ever need an amateur photographer to be an assistant on a similar project, hit me up). I also wish he had made a photography book about this project. I would have bought it then and there and carried it home.
Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8EA, United Kingdom
Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.
