||HOST|| 

||HOST|| (2012)

A collaboration between Sovay Berriman and curator Laura Mansfield, ||HOST|| was an intervention commissioned by The Royal Standard for the Liverpool Biennial 2012.

Occurring mid-way through the biennial, the project introduced a functional relaxation booth open for a seven-day period. This dedicated sanctuary provided refreshment, relaxation, and revival services exclusively to biennial workers - from curators to volunteers. While the general public was invited to observe the space and the hosting actions, the actual services remained strictly reserved for biennial staff.

By shifting the focus onto the service providers, ||HOST|| highlights the central role that hospitality plays within the visual arts. The piece subverts traditional institutional hierarchies and offers a space to reconsider the priority of hosting within both large arts organisations and individual creative practices.

The work was accompanied by commissioned texts written by Lucy Byatt and Dr Megan Wakefield:

• There is Much to Weigh in the Balance to Get it Right, Lucy Byatt
• House Rules, Dr Megan Wakefield,

You can download the texts of the guided meditations here:

• Golden Light visualisation text
• Forest visualisation text
• Cloud visualisation text