Cut and Shut Ritz, or, The Banchi, was an installation – a bedsit interior decorated and furnished in the style of the Paris Ritz hotel – and associated documentary media.
The host room (approx 5m by 2.5m) was my residence, the only vacant dwelling on the private rental market at the time which was within the budget afforded by the housing element of Universal Credit. The walls were decorated with faux rails and moulding, and were painted in the house scheme, and finished with faux wall lights, a mirror, prints of roses, portraits byThomas Lawrence and a detail of Francisco Goya’s Dog Drowning in Quicksand. The low ceiling was decorated with faux roses and featured two faux chandeliers made with aluminium foil. Faux rugs fashioned from parts of an old futon mattress and remnants covered the floor. A single bed, two faux nightstands and a faux footstall stood at one end of the space. A used chair, faux standard lamp, and used sidetables were arranged at the other end, before a trompe l’oeil fireplace. A faux complimentary bottle of champagne – Porbuggr – was left by the fireplace.
During the lockdown phases in 2020, I had taken an interest in interiors including those of luxury hotels, which I viewed online. The project was conceived in 2021 with development, sourcing and construction continuing until completion in 2022. I took a small number of photographs with a friend’s camera. With my smartphone, I made a video of the space and myself in it, parodying luxury travel content I had seen during lockdown.
The installation was not viewed as such but lived in for a very short while before being dismantled. The photographs and video production were published and released online.
jonathan oates.net 