Spirit Bedroom (November 2025) multimedia installation
This multimedia installation explores the idea of going from girlhood to womanhood, and the difficulties faced throughout that transition. The work examines the want to grow up quickly while at the same time clinging to the idea of childhood; the difficulty of choosing between ambition and family.
Audience Instructions
Details from Installation
With witchcraft imagery remaining a key informant to my practice, the work also links to traditional ideas of childhood. Such as the stuffed toy being a goat and the doll house taking the shape of a church. Including the night dress that was used in the silent film reflects the future that is waiting for whomever’s room it is, the inevitability of falling into expected gender roles. The piece is also informed by The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir, specifically her chapter on childhood: ‘The Formative Years.‘1
Audience Participation
I decided to make a doll house in the shape of a church. I was inspired by churches local to Dumfries, Scotland (the town where I was born), such as Ruthwell Church, which is the oldest building in the area. Exploring the connection between witchcraft and the church, specifically during the Scottish Reformation, is an important aspect of my practice.
I wanted to be resourceful with my materials, so made the entire doll house from one large cardboard box, which otherwise would have been disposed of. I want to expand the work further by adding stained glass windows and possibly experimenting with lighting.
I decided to make a doll house in the shape of a church. I was inspired by churches local to Dumfries, Scotland (the town where I was born), such as Ruthwell Church, which is the oldest building in the area. Exploring the connection between witchcraft and the church, specifically during the Scottish Reformation, is an important aspect of my practice.
I wanted to be resourceful with my materials, so made the entire doll house from one large cardboard box, which otherwise would have been disposed of. I want to expand the work further by adding stained glass windows and possibly experimenting with lighting.
1 De Beauvoir, Simone. 1949. The Second Sex. Oxford: Oxford University Press.