Kettle, A.M., Felcey, H., 2014.

The House of Eloi

Titled The House of Eloi, the works are a collection of collaborative works by Alice Kettle and Helen Felcey at Uppark, the historic National Trust house. They are located in the basement in one of the rooms where the writer HG Wells grew up. This room currently houses one of the finest examples of historic 17th c dolls houses in the country.
The work responds to the novels the Time Machine (1895) and War of the Worlds (1897) by HG Wells. It creates a futuristic miniature cityscape from textile and ceramic as a contemporary and alternative depiction of destruction. Inhabited by creatures called Eloi (from H G Wells original text), the works draws upon science fiction and a representation of a material world in crisis which like HG Wells' vision of the future, these works question perceptions of the real and the unknown.
The work was part of the exhibition 'Unravelling Uppark', and was commissioned to respond to moments and events in the rich and complex histories of the house. The work explores this site of personal and social transformation - from public displays of conspicuous consumption to the darker underbelly that supported it. The work explores how art can evoke histories, stories and a sense of place.
Funded by the Arts Council England, the exhibited was hosted by Unravelled and the National Trust.