“. . . where ideas are communicated or celebrated.”
When entering an art gallery, a session of psychoanalysis is usually not at the forefront of one’s mind. In Natalya Hughes’ The Interior however, the consultation room of Sigmund Freud is reimagined before us – recreated through a series of furniture, objects, and decorative elements. Visitors are encouraged to take off their shoes, get comfortable in a chair and talk.
Throughout her career, psychoanalysis has remained a key influence for Hughes. “I’ve spent years reading about psychoanalysis – as an undergrad and PhD student, as an interested artist and as a person undertaking psychoanalysis,” she says. “Everything ornamental and decorative that features in The Interior has been chosen because it has some place in the discourse of Freudian psychoanalysis. Some things appear because they were part of Freud’s treatment room decor (including his collection of antiquities and art) and some are lifted from case studies, with a particular focus on his female analysands.”
On the surface, The Interior reads as a mash-up of Freud’s consulting rooms, used across London and Vienna throughout the early to mid-1900s. It is populated with several chairs, tufted rugs, and antique objects. On a deeper level, the curved u-shape of the chairs is based on the reclining couches made famous by psychoanalysis and recalls the 1928 design of Le Corbusier’s iconic Chaise Longue – often referred to as “the relaxation machine.” As Le Corbusier’s chaise reflected the curves of the human body, Hughes’ chairs mimic the shape of the female breast. “When seated in them, you’re climbing into a body of sorts: one to nurture and make you comfortable. Or to hold you in place in your discomfort.”
The detailed decorative features on these soft furnishings contain potent visual symbols. Patterns from a Smyrna rug owned by Freud are interlaced with iconography connected to the dreams and visions of his most documented analysands. An eye and a curling black snake for Anna O, a pinwheel of rats for Rat Man and a burning house for Dora. In the background, a shelf displays a row of antique objects. Referencing Freud’s personal collection of antiquities, Hughes collaborated with artist Max Athans to produce a fantastical series of figurative sculptures blending mythological elements with strange, dream-like creatures.
Connecting to inner thoughts, feelings of safety or entrapment, and the meaning behind how we decorate our private spaces, The Interior is a place to ruminate and reflect, not only on our deepest thoughts but also on the visual symbols that surround us. As Hughes puts it, “I’m very interested in the ways we often look past ornamental motifs and designs as inconsequential or marginal. Something I have been exploring for a while is how I might exploit that dismissal and use it instead as a place to communicate, to shift understanding. At the very least, decoration and ornament can be a place where ideas are communicated or celebrated.”
Briony Downes is a Hobart-based arts writer.
Devonport Regional Gallery
2 March to 13 April 2024
Tasmania
