Here, Somewhere
Dorich House Museum
2024
Exhibition
Curator
Artist
‘Double Bed’
Kiss Me In The Straight
Club On Curtains
Queer Objects of the Home
Double Bed Durational Performance
A curated display of research, installations, and series of participatory events exploring the speculative lavender marriage of Dora Gordine and Richard Hare, hinted at by former friends and acquaintances of the couple (albeit unwilling to go on the record).
A lavender marriage is a straight presenting union of one or two members of the LGBTQ+ community, offering an alternative form of companionship and often formed to protect those within it. Here, Somewhere re-imagined Dorich House as a queer home, questioning its history and imagining a simultaneous queer future.
Graphic Design: Nikhil Mirpuri
Research support: Fiona Fisher, Annaleena Piel Linnå, Brenda Martin
Funded by Arts Council England through Museum Development London’s Diversity Matters programme and Kingston University.
‘Double Bed’
Kiss Me In The Straight
Club On Curtains
Queer Objects of the Home
Double Bed Durational Performance
‘Double Bed’ speculates on Dora Gordine and Richard Hare’s bedroom life, presenting their sleeping arrangement as a foot-to-foot affair.
3D Fabrication Assistance: Lukas Schaber
Textiles: Ella Dobbs, Gina Birch
Photography courtesy of Ellie Laycock
‘Double Bed’
Kiss Me In The Straight
Club On Curtains
Queer Objects of the Home
Double Bed Durational Performance
Kiss Me in the Straight Club - On Curtains recollects a club night out, shrouding Dorich House’s living space in queer storytelling, emphasising the balance of joy and fear that is experienced when outside of the sanctity of queer community. An exerpt of a love poem written in 2022, the work is in homage to letters Gordine wrote to a friend in her later life, highlighting the complexity of queer self-expression.
‘Double Bed’
Kiss Me In The Straight
Club On Curtains
Queer Objects of the Home
Double Bed Durational Performance
A selection of objects and quotes from a variety of queer/LGBT+ homes offered up as a housewarming gift for the opening night of Here, Somewhere. Spanning multiple generations, they breathe life into the space as it were lived in by queers today. These seemingly innocuous objects hold stories are documented as a form of archival resistance.
Objects by: Alice Torres (She/Her), Ana da Silva, Anonymous, Anonymous (She/Her), David Falkner, Ellis Tree (She/Her), Grac Talbot (They/Them), Honey Birch (They/Them), Jaime Young (They/Them), Jemila Abdulai (She/Her), Josephine Ryan Gill (She/Her), Keyu Hao - Echo (They), Lukas Schaber (He/They), Martha Summers, Nik Mirpuri (he/they), Sara Gibson Lopez (She/Her), Shirley O’Loughlin, Talia Rudofsky, Yilin Wong (She/Her)
Graphic Design: Nikhil Mirpuri
Photography courtesy of Dennis Colebourne
“I found this comb on the street when visiting my girlfriend in Edinburgh. I thought it was very beautiful and masculine in an old-fashioned way, but also small in a way that felt delicate. I lost it for a long time in her flat before it showed up under a coffee table, unceremoniously. The ritual of applying the accompanying wax to my hair feels queer. I denied myself short hair for a long time and every time I style my hair now I feel like I’m finally living out a fantasy.” - Anonymous
“I noticed this book ‘Carol’ by Patricia Highsmith on a table in Waterstones in 1991. I was drawn to the Edward Hopper style painting of two women on the cover, and then the quote ‘below: A document of persecuted love…perfect’. The book was first published in 1952 titled ‘The Price of Salt’ under a pseudonym.” - Ana Da Silva
“I started wearing two ties sometime last year, and it's now become a staple look in my wardrobe [...] from being forced to wear ties at school to fit into a uniform and look the same as everyone else, to now wearing 2, sometimes 3, it feels likes a small act of queer rebellion, as well as signaling, I can carry out in my day to day.” - Grac Talbot
“Mithai are South Asian sweet treats or desserts. I found this mithai box at a flea market and it's got Shiva, the god of destruction and constructive recreation printed on it. In Hindu mythology, the god Shiva is often considered to embody non-binary aspects through his "Ardhanarishvara" form, where he is depicted as half male and half female, merging with his consort Parvati, signifying the union of masculine and feminine energies within a single being; essentially representing a concept beyond the traditional gender binary.
I use this box to keep sentimental trinkets and gifts from family, friends and partners. There are pictures of my mom in there from when she was my age, a wisdom tooth, wristbands from queer club nights and other stuff.” - Nik Mirpuri
‘Double Bed’
Kiss Me In The Straight
Club On Curtains
Queer Objects of the Home
Double Bed Durational Performance
A five hour long durational performance piece in collaboration with Leo Chapman and Pianka Pärna, each hour exploring different aspects of Dora Gordine and Richard Hare’s relationship to queerness and alternative relationships.
As they move further and further away from each other
The words begin to crumble
They syncopate with each other
As they pull apart, the rope gets longer
They each reach for their respective headboard
Their words overlap
They say their words in a jumble
As the final bells chime, the two performers fall silent
They curl up into the foetal position
They hold this pose, resting, until the last of the six tolls.
Performance script excerpt