We are open today til 5pm
Free Admission

Brighton CCA

A new centre for
contemporary arts at the
University of Brighton

This event is part of Dorset Place

Exhibition Preview: Wednesday 1 March 2023, 5.30 – 7.30pm
Exhibition continues until Saturday 18 March 2023, open Fridays & Saturdays, 12.00 – 4.00pm or by appointment

In Romper Room, Brighton CCA: Dorset Place becomes a space that explores Northern Ireland’s history of community enforced punishment and intimidation. A Romper Room was a place where terrorist organisations, in Northern Ireland, would take their victims to be punished or interrogated. Romper Room was also the name of a children’s TV show watched by the artist as a child, in the family home, in 1970s Northern Ireland. From Monday 20 – Tuesday 28 February, Seeds will be in residence in the space working with students to document the process of making.

In this installation a tarred and feathered dining table and chairs sit in the centre of the gallery. The walls and floor have been lined with protective sheeting The dining table and chairs acknowledge the everyday space of a family meeting place, however their solid familiarity is betrayed by the tar and feather surface. During the troubles In Northern Ireland, tarring and feathering was instigated by terrorist groups as a means of community control through public torture and humiliation. The protective sheets, on the gallery walls and floor, displace the sculpture in to a forensic scene – a space where violent acts are scrutinised. Together, the elements of the installation create a complex unheimlich experience.

This project was made, and its production documented, with students from the University of Brighton BA (Hons) Photography Course. With thanks to Kira Lehane, Ben Stezaker and Zosia Szymanowska.

Supported by the University of Brighton Research and Knowledge Exchange fund.

Martin Seeds (b. 1964) lives and works in Brighton, his practice is shaped by the conflicting experiences of Northern Irish identity, history and culture. Solo exhibitions include No Country For Young Men, Seen Fifteen Gallery, London (2021); Violence Religion Injustice Death, Seen Fifteen Gallery, London (2019). Recent exhibitions include Assembly, Photo50, London Art Fair, London (2022); No Country For Young Men, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin, Ireland (2022); In Our Image: The Politics of Place, Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (2022). Hurry Up Please Its Time, Seen Fifteen, London (2020), With Monochrome Eyes, Borough Road Gallery, London(2020), The BREXIT Shop, Format Festival. Derby, UK(2019).

Dorset Place is Brighton CCA’s project space and hosts a series of short projects and exhibitions by emerging artists, organisations, curators and students. With a fast changing programme, the space is an exciting platform for experimentation, collaboration and engagement with new ideas and voices. Dorset Place allows us to be responsive, initiating and supporting projects which stand alone or connect to our wider programme. The space is offered free of charge with curatorial, marketing and limited technical support.

6 Dorset Place
Brighton BN2 0JG

Newsletter Signup

Close