Is A Stranger's Bedroom Art?

Voyeurism is so hot right now. It's all over cable TV, social media and the evening news, and we may as well admit: Yes, it’s hard to escape watching or being watched. Lately, voyeurism has been popping up in art too. The Opposite House has teamed up with Red Gate Gallery to get you in on the action.

First, a quick reminder of artwork that invites the audience to play the voyeur. British artist Tracey Emin had her bed (see above photo), Danish and Nordic artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset had their installation of neighboring houses (complete with a Gatsby-esque murder victim facedown in a pool) at the 2009 Venice Biennale, and some of you may remember the series of photos about the happenings in a Chinese hotel room (click here for the more racy ones):

Now it’s Beijing’s turn to join the "Voyeurism As Art" club. Head up to Room 515 at The Opposite House and the door will open up to one of their typically luxurious suites. Atypical, though, is the way its mysterious female inhabitant has settled in with an explosion of items designed and crafted in Australia. The items evoke wealth, nostalgia, post-feminist ideals and a sure though understated materialism.

This new exhibit, called "The Abandoned Boudoir," avoids the extremes of both hyper-realism (like Emin’s grossly raw installation of her post-depression bed) and the hyper-fantastic (like the over-the-top characters who inhabit the Elmgreen & Dragset piece). This makes for a calmer, less provocative exhibit, with much less dark intrigue and brokenness than you might expect. (Whether this is a relief or a disappointment depends on how your own tastes run.)

There are, however, a lot of very thoughtful objects. Curator Marisia Lukaszewski tells us, “An underlying theme of the exhibit is this tyranny of distance that we feel in Australia.” This tyranny creates a longing, both to experience what’s beyond the southern land and to remember it as home. "It's like the Grand Tours people took in Europe in the 18-19th century. They'd go and bring back all these items from their travels. This is kind of the reverse: bringing out items from Australia to show the world."

Show the world, indeed. Sizable glass sculptures, tons of tableware and jewelry and even a piece of furniture have followed this mystery inhabitant to her Beijing hotel room.

The exhibit will change throughout its ten-day run, to reflect the shifting moods or daily activities of the "occupant." Though "The Abandoned Boudoir" may not pack the prickling narrative punch of its more sordid conceptual cousins, the objects that fill Room 515 are fun to look at, and reflect a burgeoning Australian design aesthetic that’s cheeky yet refined with a touch of the wild.

In all honesty, it can feel less like a hard-hitting art exhibit and more like window-shopping for cool, funky décor. But if you’re going to The Opposite House to look at art, you probably already expect that. Heck, you might even be hoping for it.

"The Abandoned Boudoir"
Aug 10-20. Free. 1pm-7pm. The Opposite House (6417 6688)

Reserve a half-hour time slot here, and call The Opposite House to confirm. (As of now, the EventBrite link above seems not to be taking reservations, so call the hotel either way.)

On Saturday, August 13, the curator will offer two guided tours at 2pm and 3pm. Call The Opposite House (6417 6688) to make a reservation. At a maximum of eight people per tour, spaces may fill up fast. If so, guided tours with the curator will likely happen on Sunday, August 14 as well. Either way, call early to reserve.

Photos: The Saatchi Gallery, chinaSMACK, and by Marilyn Mai