Herringbone Floor
Print
2001 (made)
2001 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Rachel Whiteread takes casts of furniture and even whole buildings, transforming into solid form the spaces in or around the objects of daily life. Such pieces have a strong metaphysical presence, often evoking a sense of history, of previous lives or deaths in particular spaces. Her sculpture is usually on a large scale; she famously cast a terraced house in the East End of London – a venture that won her the Turner Prize in 1993.
The scale of Herringbone Floor is modest by comparison, yet conveys similar notions about space, history, presence and absence. The artist has used the pattern of a wooden-block floor as a medium for expressing the 'space' between the blocks.
The scale of Herringbone Floor is modest by comparison, yet conveys similar notions about space, history, presence and absence. The artist has used the pattern of a wooden-block floor as a medium for expressing the 'space' between the blocks.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Herringbone Floor (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Laser-cut relief, birch plywood |
| Brief description | 'Herringbone Floor', Laser-cut relief in birch plywood, Rachel Whiteread, England, 2001. Signed and dated by the artist, one of an edition of 450. |
| Physical description | Laser-cut relief in 0.8mm Finnish birch plywood based on a drawing of, and tracing the lines of, a parquet floor - forming a grid-like pattern of interlocking, irregular rectangles. The artist has used a pattern made of wood as a medium for expressing the 'space' between the blocks. Signed and dated by the artist, one of an edition of 450. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Limited edition |
| Copy number | 15/450 |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | Whiteread is a sculptor, best known for her casts of the spaces inside domestic objects and rooms. To make this multiple, her drawing of a parquet floor was transferred to a sheet of birch plywood which was then cut away by laser, leaving only lines. These represent the spaces between the wooden floor tiles. The unevenness of the original drawing was intended to suggest the wear and tear of a lived-in space.
(11/09/2017) |
| Credit line | Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund |
| Production | British Museum Department of Prints and Drawings hold a drawing similar to the 'Herringbone Floor': 'Pink', 1993, pen, ink and gouache on graph paper, 455 x 610mm, PD 2004-6-1-45. The Acquisition RF (2001/606) includes a postcard image of this drawing. Reason For Production: Retail |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Rachel Whiteread takes casts of furniture and even whole buildings, transforming into solid form the spaces in or around the objects of daily life. Such pieces have a strong metaphysical presence, often evoking a sense of history, of previous lives or deaths in particular spaces. Her sculpture is usually on a large scale; she famously cast a terraced house in the East End of London – a venture that won her the Turner Prize in 1993. The scale of Herringbone Floor is modest by comparison, yet conveys similar notions about space, history, presence and absence. The artist has used the pattern of a wooden-block floor as a medium for expressing the 'space' between the blocks. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.20-2002 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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