A new work that draws upon the history and heritage of the Houses of Parliament opens to the public today (until 1 September; tickets must be booked in advance) only days after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
The Ethics of Dust, a 50-metre-long translucent latex cast of an internal east wall inside Westminster Hall is by the Spanish artist, architect and conservationist Jorge Otero-Pailos. The work or “skin”—which enshrines grime and soot from over the centuries— hangs from the ceiling of the 1,000-year-old hall.
The site-specific piece was commissioned and produced by the non-profit art commissioning body Artangel. It acts as a historical and artistic record of the seat of democracy, which was shaken by the Leave campaign prevailing 52% to 48% on 23 June.
“This huge skin bears the marks of history. [Prime Minister] David Cameron came to the House of Commons on 27 June to give his statement on Brexit just as the installation was being completed, and we are all consumed by the events of the moment,” says James Lingwood, the co-director of Artangel.
“But The Ethics of Dust is concerned with a grander and longer history of this building at the heart of democracy. It contains within it centuries of pollution. The dirt is transformed into something radiant, it reminds me of a huge tapestry, glowing with history,” he says.
“You can see the streaks of the water marks and the outline of sculptures that were once placed against the wall,” the artist says. “What interests me is when a work of art ends and the space begins.”
The work, which is backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, has involved collaborating with Parliament’s restoration and stone cleaning project team over five years. The ambitious project is part of Otero-Pailos’ ongoing series, which considers conservation and cultural responses to pollution.
Last year, Otero-Pailos made a “cast of a cast” from Trajan’s Column in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and in 2009, created a latex reproduction of an interior wall in the 14th-century Doge’s Palace in Venice.