Fun things to do while staying at home during a lockdown because of the coronavirus: take a virtual tour of Pretend Art Gallery WheretoKim.
No, the art on display is not worth millions… the memories of the acquisition, however, are. To me at least.
In most countries, the museums are closed because of the coronavirus. Many of you are on lockdown and staying home. The same goes for me. My country is on an ‘intelligent lockdown’, meaning that 90% of the people stay at home and the other 10% ignore the requests and do as they always do.
So what do you do when you can’t go where the art is? You either create your own art show or show some appreciation for the art that you own by pretending your home is an art gallery.
Your own #PretendArtGallery
Dress up nicely and prepare yourself mentally for a special visit to your own home. You’ll be surprised about all the interesting pieces you can find within the confines of your own place. Over the years you probably gathered many beautiful objects befitting an art gallery, many of which you don’t consciously see any more because they were absorbed by the house, like furniture. They’re there and you would notice it if one of them when went missing but you don’t really see them anymore once the novelty wears off.
Now is the time to take a step back from real life and look at your place with the eyes of a first-time visitor. Be prepared to marvel at the beautiful pieces that you will see on your tour through the art gallery also known as your home.
Inside your #PretendArtGallery you can do everything you normally do at an Art Gallery or Museum.
- Just take your time in front of an artwork that interests you and read up on its origin. Where and when did you buy it? Are there any fun stories attached to it? Good memories?
- As always you can skip the pieces you don’t find particularly interesting. For example, those you received as a gift or those that your significant other brought into your home. Though it is possible those are the ones you cherish the most.
- Take elegant pictures of your favorite artworks and post them on your social media accounts with the hashtag #PretendArtGallery. Selfies get more likes!
- You can keep coming back to the pieces you like best to look at them a little bit longer. Sit down on a chair in front of the artwork if you want to spend more time gazing and dreaming (unless that one happens to be in the stairwell). There is no closing time for this Pretend Art Gallery so an all-day visit is now an option.
- The toilet is always near and drinks and snacks are cheaper than in most art galleries. You’re free to touch the objects as no angry observer will come running at you if you do.
Gallery WheretoKim
So let’s take a look at #GalleryWheretoKim. As you’re not allowed to visit my place in real life I’ll take you on a virtual tour of my Pretend Art Gallery.
Cormorant of Sund (Norway)
This beautiful piece is the centerpiece of my living room. It stands proudly on the TV cabinet and I look at it daily. It was made by the blacksmith of Sund in the Lofoten in Norway. I saw him creating pieces exactly like this one and bought one of the finished cormorants to take home with me.
Owl of Matsumoto (Japan)
Next to the cormorant stands my owl. I still remember how this blue glass owl caught my attention in this little shop in Matsumoto in Japan. It stood surrounded by other metallic and glass objects, like the R2D2 that now lives at my brother’s place. I like to think it feels right at home next to my cormorant.
Herbarium of Tokyo (Japan)
These Hikka Herbariums are quite popular in Japan. Inside the glass jars, the dried flowers are preserved in a special oily liquid. You can buy them at Tokyu Hands (and some other stores) in the big shopping malls in Japan. I am especially fond of the one on the left as I picked the flowers myself and a flower artist created this bouquet on the spot during a festival at the Ueno Park in Tokyo.
Winter sky of Honningsvåg (Norway)
For her collages artist Eva Schmutterer takes inspiration from the landscape around her. She first sketches what she wants to depict and then fills her sketches with pieces of magazines and other printed media. I only have prints of the original work (Gallery WheretoKim contains only budget-friendly art). You can view Eva’s work at the Art Gallery “West of the Moon” in Honningsvåg or “East of the Sun” in Kamøyvær, both located very close to the North Cape in Norway.
Postcards of Busan (South Korea)
Postcards of Busan‘s Gamcheon Culture Village in South Korea. Taking inspiration from the collages of the Norwegian winter sky, I thought these would fit my living room perfectly. Nice and colorful, a happy and bright view opposite the darker winter skies of Norway.
Banner of Matsumoto (Japan)
A banner for protection from Matsumoto in Japan. It is elegant and unique (at least in the Netherlands). The shop owners told me about the general and battle depicted on it but I lost the note, unfortunately. I guess I should go back for an explanation.
Frog of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
A very charming frog made from coconuts. Who wouldn’t accept a proposal from this frog if he looks at you like that? I bought this one at the Art Gallery Museum of Ethnic Arts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Inside this gallery, you can find some interesting small handicraft shops next to the more touristy shops.
Pillowcase of Southern China
Colorful and handmade. For some time I didn’t dare to actually use this pillow as to not damage the pillowcase. By buying it I supported the women of the mountain village. I don’t remember which village, but I visited it on my tour through southern China.
Bird of Pythagoreio (Samos, Greece)
A small hidden bird that glows in all colors of the rainbow. It would be more natural for him to sit on the wooden skid but I guess the fridge is second best.
Tekoteko (New Zealand)
A tekoteko: a Maori style carved representation of the Maori tribal ancestors. I remember the store I bought this at and I can still picture myself exploring the store, but I can’t for the life of me remember in which city it was.
Mask of Arenal (Costa Rica)
I spent my whole lunch break in Arenal looking at masks (and skipping lunch) to find the perfect one with the right color and expression and without imperfections that annoyed me. The result has been staring at me for many years now.
Untitled
Artists often call their work untitled. I’ll take that liberty as well for this green stony work of art hanging in the hallway next to the door to my living room (with the Costa Rica mask on the other side). It first hung in the bedroom of my parents, then in mine (as a kid) and now in the hallway of my grown-up house. So basically it’s been in the family for many years, but I have no idea what it depicts or where it came from. Anyone?
Guardian from Seoul (South Korea)
The real guardian of my living room, supported by the mask of Arenal and mister Untitled. I bought this one in the handicrafts street in Insadong in Seoul.
Kodama of Yakushima (Japan)
Let’s start by saying I mean no offense to the forest spirit now brightening up my toilet in a not very wooden house. You might recognize this figure from the animation movie Princess Mononoke that took its inspiration from the Shiratani Unsuikyo forest on the subtropical Yakushima Island in Japan. The Kodama was carved from cedar wood grown on Yakushima.
Print from a museum in Rotterdam (Netherlands)
A souvenir from my only voluntary museum visit during high school. I still don’t know why it happened but when I was 14 I visited an exhibition in the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam with a friend and bought this print because I liked the colors and composition very much. High school made me visit the most boring exhibitions and theater performances as a result of which I didn’t like visiting museums for a long time. This only changed when I found out which type of museums and what type of artworks I do enjoy seeing a few years ago.
This work of art is flanked by water colorings from Japan.
Newspaper front pages from The Hague (Netherlands)
Golden front pages used for printing a 1981 ‘Den Haag Courant’ newspaper. I got these from my grandfather who had a printing house.
Zebra from Stone Town (Zanzibar)
This painting adorns my bedroom. Do you see all the cracks? It didn’t survive the flight home as it was rolled up too tight by the shop owner. At first I was very disappointed but then I thought it was actually quite funny. I bought this painting from a shabby shop, so the current state of the painting reflects the establishment perfectly. Underneath the zebra painting, you can spot another painting. Hence this is the perfect souvenir from Zanzibar.
Challenge
Take a virtual tour through your own Pretend Art Gallery and share the photos online. Use the hashtag #PretendArtGallery and tag me @WheretoKim. This way we can bring art to everyone’s house.
My next challenge: to set up an exhibition with my own art in my Pretend Art Gallery and share it here as a virtual tour.
