Materials and Handling Objects Activity

This activity explores the artwork 'From the Freud Museum' by Susan Hiller. It can be adapted to suit the interests and experience of your group. For example, it may be of interest to an art group who are making their own exhibition and want to explore different methods of display. Or your group may include individuals who are passionate collectors. This artwork explores ideas about collections and the role of souvenirs.

For this activity, you will need to bring handling materials with you to the gallery or you can contact Gillian Wilson to borrow a FREE pre-packed box of handling resources from the Tate Modern Resource Room.

Activity

• Using the handling resources, ask the group to work in pairs or small groups of 3 or 4 people.
• Before you go into the room, give each group one of the following objects (plastic apple, toy fish, fragment of animal bone, plastic snake, fake pearl necklace, African mask, abalone shell, small metal candlestick) and ask the group to look at all the boxes in the artwork.
• Can they make any links between the contents of the boxes and the object they have? It may be a link through materials (for example there are some examples of shells in the boxes) or it may be symbolically (for example the apple is something that has been used in Greek mythology and Christian stories) or ritual (for example candlesticks are used to celebrate birthdays and have special meanings in Judaism and Catholicism)
• Ask the group to spend 5 minutes looking and talking as a small group
• Then reconvene and share ideas for 10-20 minutes.
• As described above, this artwork has many layers of ideas, you may want to tell the group the title and ask the group what they know about Freud. Explain the role of this psychiatrist and his study of the mind and of areas we may hide. Ask the group if they have ideas about the wall projection to the side of the boxes in relation to their discussion. Some viewers feel this projection is like a body scan or clouds in the sky while others are reminded of waves. What are you reminded of? It is as much a part of the artwork as the wall based boxes so you may want to include time for this in your work together.

Other artworks to look at in relation to this activity

Many of the Surrealist artists were influenced by ideas about the unconscious and dreams and avidly read the works of Dr Sigmund Freud. Look at Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, Eileen Agar and Rene Magritte. What do the symbols they use remind you of? Are they dreams or nightmares?