Harpo funding will be used to support a new commission by Markus Kåhre for the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art. Kåhre will transform the first floor of a 1746 public house into a site-specific installation that will reference the communal linguistic root of words such as ‘host’, ‘guest’ and ‘ghost’, investigating the intangible presences that inhabit our memories and take ownership of abandoned sites.
The exhibition space will be transformed into four ‘bedrooms’ of which two will be accessible to visitors. Looking into what appear to be normal mirrors (which are made of one-way glass) visitors will expect to see a reflection, but instead will view the ‘hidden’ spaces, replica rooms in which there are subtle differences and with items, themselves included, missing. The mystery of the ‘reflection’ remains unresolved, leaving the visitor with a sense of displacement and marvel. (text sourced from grant proposal)