Gill Perrys fascinating book considers what makes a house a home and why artists are repeatedly drawn to it as a motif. Chapters look at particular types of houses, from those that are haunted to beachside retreats and caravans. Rachel Whitereads House (1993) and Michael Landys Semi-Detached (2004) make appearances, and this well-illustrated volume goes on to include a wide range of art from around the globe.
Art Quarterly
Perrys ability to read a work of art, and explain it accessibly while still honouring the artists often complex intentions, is both rare and valuable. For this alone Playing at Home is welcome.
TLS
Perry has written a scholarly, readable and time survey of an important theme. This book reminds us of the capacity of art to deepen our understanding of a contested, contentious concept whose centrality to the way we live today will not have escaped anyone living in Europe during the recent elections.
The Art Newspaper
Peppered with clear, mostly color photographs, the seven chapters, introduction, and conclusion interpret houses as interactive spaces permitting exploration and experimentation . . . exhibits use the house to express environmental concerns, cultural experiences, nostalgia, or other aspects of life, and ultimately raise questions that could redefine the way we look around us. Recommended.
Choice
Perry frames artists exhibiting in Britain, Europe, and America and their explorations of the representational form of the house or home as an image and a subject in installation art. She interrogates the house and home as either a spatial configuration or representation, utilizing theoretical models ranging from phenomenology to feminism . . . with 45 color plates and 75 halftone illustrations, it is an excellent resource for anyone interested in a detailed overview of selected themes about the house and home in contemporary art.
The Woman's Art Journal