One can imagine this room to have no way in nor out, and the perfect wall and floor add to that illusion. Yet common sense tells us that this cannot be the case; nevertheless, it engenders an eerie sensation.
Trapped
(28) Cul-De-Sac
Enclosure
These fake windows are in the boundary wall of what was the Ealing Asylum, intended purely as decoration on an otherwise blank wall. One wonders what was on the reverse.
Mons Chair
#Cul-De-Sac – no way out
There are certain scenes and situations that affect us in strange ways, whether it is a feeling of déjà vu or something comforting, or perhaps we are aware of a strange sensation but are unaware of the reason behind it.
Several years ago, while staying at a run-down pension in Mons – an ancient hilltop town in the south of France, way off the beaten track – I became fascinated by this scene. The pot plant blocks off access to a short flight of stairs that lead only to a disused and locked door, creating a sense of mystery, and the adjacent chair suggests that a guard or custodian has temporarily vacated their station.
A perfectly placed pot plant and chair [Cat: 0571, Chair at the top of the stairs, 20 x 24″ / 50 x 60 cm, Oil paint on canvas board, 2013]