History & Practice Session VII: High Modernity & America

​Richard Hamilton, What makes todays homes so different so appealing? , 1956

Richard Hamilton created What makes todays homes so different so appealing? as part of the This is Tomorrow exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Artists and architects were invited to create discrete zones that accorded with their vision of the future. 

My version of this piece, showing the 2020 interpretation of my vision of the future focuses on the many things going on in current society, from political news effecting the current state of the country and world to popular technology that has flooded people's homes. ​

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, many households are in a difficult situation and feel out of control of their own future while stuck in their homes, which is why my image has a chaotic atmosphere. 
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Trump can be seen from outside the window looking in as despite him being in charge of the USA, his actions have a ripple affect across all other countries and make their way into our daily lives.

My 2020 interpretation

I chose to include Boris Johnson at a lectern built from Jenga blocks, made up of the many phrases that the government have put out, to commentate on the instability of his approach to this pandemic as well as the lack of serious action he has taken which has made people unsure of the future and what it will hold. In addition to this the bulldozer represents how their many schemes, such as 'eat out to help out', that try to help the economy have put people's lives in danger and gone against all their previous slogans.

The overlay of the zoom call seen at the bottom of the image shows how video calls have become a more commonly used thing throughout all households, keeping people connected maybe now more than ever showing that despite all the bad things there can be positives drawn from them.
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I decided to put all these political references within the home living room as the news is something you cannot escape in daily life with it being something you view both on the television and mobile phones, it effects all aspects of life.