First exhibited in the summer of 2017 at CCA Glasgow, The house that heals the soul was developed with artist and lecturer at the University of Leeds, Nick Thurston. Featuring the work of over a dozen international artists and collectives, it focused on the political and social status of libraries and brought new audiences into the gallery to read, write and publish.
The Tetley presentation brought together an archive of the publications and conversations generated at the CCA in a library of libraries. It also made available to the public all of the resources, equipment and expertise necessary to produce printed matter, enabling visitors to self-publish and add to the project’s growing archive.
The visual direction of the publishing studio was led by two designers-in-residence, Jamie Hudson and Orlando Lloyd, and further developed on-site during the exhibition.
Public libraries, like public art galleries, have become some of the last remaining spaces where people can gather without expectation or requirement. As the future of libraries and their buildings becomes increasingly precarious, The house that heals the soul proposed the library as a site of resistance, shelter, preservation, creation and restitution. The Tetley’s presentation served as an active resource for visitors to explore the relationship between contemporary art and libraries in dynamically public ways.
The house that heals the soul coincided with These silences are all the words and In the city of lost times, with all three exhibitions exploring the use of public spaces in a new setting.