Place (Village) | Rachel Whiteread | V&A Explore The Collections
Source: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1316194
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:10
Place (Village) | Rachel Whiteread | V&A Explore The Collections
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JPG
+173
+171
images
On display
Young V&A
Imagine Gallery, Small Worlds
Place (Village)
Installation
ca. 1995-2015
(collected)
, ca. 1955 - ca. 1995
(manufactured)
, 2023
(assembled)
Artist/Maker
Rachel Whiteread
(artist)
Place of origin
London
(assembled)
'Place (Village)' is an assemblage of more than 100 dolls’ houses of mismatched styles, collected by the artist over a period of about twenty years. It is a quietly unsettling sculptural work which uses dolls' houses, packing cases and fruit crates to evoke a sprawling hillside community. They are lit from within, but are devoid of both people and objects. The perpetual ‘night’ created by the painted walls and blacked-out windows, allied to the emptiness of the houses, provokes an awed, haunted atmosphere, and a curious feeling of melancholy.
This work was influenced by the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A) from its inception: Whiteread recalled that as a child she was mesmerized by its famous collection of dolls’ houses. As an adult, she became interested in dolls’ houses as repositories for memory and family history, since many are passed down through generations of family members. Dolls’ houses can also be a means of personal expression, through collecting items to adorn them, by decorating them, and through playing with them. The absence of people and things in 'Place (Village)' encourages the viewer to invent their own stories about the dwellers’ activities, or about what has happened to the people and their possessions.
Object details
Categories
Sculpture
Dolls' Houses
Children & Childhood
Installation Art
Object type
Installation
Title
Place (Village)
(assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Mixed materials, mainly painted and lithographed wood and manufactured boards and various plastics
Wood
Plywood
Chipboard
Plastic
Brief description
'Place (Village)' installation, dolls' houses, packing crates and fruit crates collected by Rachel Whiteread over a number of years, and installed at the Young V&A museum
Physical description
Sculptural installation of dolls' houses, packing crates and fruit crates. The dolls' houses vary in their age and style, all of them are lit from the inside using LED bulbs. They are arranged on 'hills' which have been created using the crates.
Production type
Unique
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Place (Village)
The artist, Rachel Whiteread, turned this whole room into a work of art using dozens and dozens of doll’s houses she collected. She made the artwork to look like a village on a hill.
It’s night-time. All the lights are on, but is anyone around?
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery, Small Worlds, sub-section panel]
Credit line
Given by Rachel Whiteread
Object history
Place (Village)
was first shown in Naples in 2007, using 52 houses, and was later exhibited in Spain, the USA, and at London’s Hayward Gallery. On each occasion it was shown in a different configuration. A site-specific installation was created for the V&A Museum of Childhood in collaboration with the artist’s studio. Rachael Whiteread donated the artwork to the Museum in 2017 [2017/85].
The work was redisplayed in a new configuration for Young V&A.
Historical context
Rachel Whiteread was born in Ilford in 1963, she was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993, and was one of the 'Young British Artists' who exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1997. Among her best known works are
House
(1993), a cast of the inside of an entire Victorian terraced house; the Holocaust memorial at Judenplatz, Vienna (2000); and
Monument
(2001), for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, a transparent resin cast of the plinth itself, inverted and placed on top of it. Other works by Whiteread are held in the V&A collections: a poster for the 2012 Olympic Games in London;
Herringbone Floor
(2001), a laser-cut relief; and
Second Hand
(2004), a group of 3D-printed dolls’ house-sized furniture.
Production
The installation consists of mainly mass-produced 20th century dolls' houses.
Subject depicted
Dolls' Houses
Summary
'Place (Village)' is an assemblage of more than 100 dolls’ houses of mismatched styles, collected by the artist over a period of about twenty years. It is a quietly unsettling sculptural work which uses dolls' houses, packing cases and fruit crates to evoke a sprawling hillside community. They are lit from within, but are devoid of both people and objects. The perpetual ‘night’ created by the painted walls and blacked-out windows, allied to the emptiness of the houses, provokes an awed, haunted atmosphere, and a curious feeling of melancholy.
This work was influenced by the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A) from its inception: Whiteread recalled that as a child she was mesmerized by its famous collection of dolls’ houses. As an adult, she became interested in dolls’ houses as repositories for memory and family history, since many are passed down through generations of family members. Dolls’ houses can also be a means of personal expression, through collecting items to adorn them, by decorating them, and through playing with them. The absence of people and things in 'Place (Village)' encourages the viewer to invent their own stories about the dwellers’ activities, or about what has happened to the people and their possessions.
Bibliographic reference
Collection
Young V&A Collection
Accession number
B.21-2017
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created
June 17, 2015
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1316194/place-village-installation-rachel-whiteread/
Download as:
JSON
You may also like
Skip to main content
Image
of
License this image
To license this image or for more information please contact our Licensing team.
Email us
We can manage your request more quickly if you include the following information:
Image reference number:
XXX
Title and author (if applicable)
Publisher/Producer/Broadcaster
Planned release date
Print run or number of units
Image size and position, example 1/4 page, full screen, front cover, inside
Languages/territorial distribution
Digital rights - format details and license period
Download image
By downloading this image you agree that you will not use it commercially, as defined in our full
terms and conditions
.
You can use the image for:
Non-commercial research and private study
Teaching and instruction
Non-commercial publishing (up to A5-size, and in print runs of up to 4000 copies)
Non-commercial online use, up to 768 pixels, and for up to 5 years
Please indicate that you accept all terms to proceed
I agree to the full terms and conditions
Other uses, including exhibition catalogue and display, broadcast, advertising, book jackets and commercial packaging, are covered by our commercial terms.
Please
contact our Licensing team
for more information.
JPG
+173
+171
images
On display
Young V&A
Imagine Gallery, Small Worlds
Place (Village)
Installation
ca. 1995-2015
(collected)
, ca. 1955 - ca. 1995
(manufactured)
, 2023
(assembled)
Artist/Maker
Rachel Whiteread
(artist)
Place of origin
London
(assembled)
'Place (Village)' is an assemblage of more than 100 dolls’ houses of mismatched styles, collected by the artist over a period of about twenty years. It is a quietly unsettling sculptural work which uses dolls' houses, packing cases and fruit crates to evoke a sprawling hillside community. They are lit from within, but are devoid of both people and objects. The perpetual ‘night’ created by the painted walls and blacked-out windows, allied to the emptiness of the houses, provokes an awed, haunted atmosphere, and a curious feeling of melancholy.
This work was influenced by the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A) from its inception: Whiteread recalled that as a child she was mesmerized by its famous collection of dolls’ houses. As an adult, she became interested in dolls’ houses as repositories for memory and family history, since many are passed down through generations of family members. Dolls’ houses can also be a means of personal expression, through collecting items to adorn them, by decorating them, and through playing with them. The absence of people and things in 'Place (Village)' encourages the viewer to invent their own stories about the dwellers’ activities, or about what has happened to the people and their possessions.
Object details
Categories
Sculpture
Dolls' Houses
Children & Childhood
Installation Art
Object type
Installation
Title
Place (Village)
(assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Mixed materials, mainly painted and lithographed wood and manufactured boards and various plastics
Wood
Plywood
Chipboard
Plastic
Brief description
'Place (Village)' installation, dolls' houses, packing crates and fruit crates collected by Rachel Whiteread over a number of years, and installed at the Young V&A museum
Physical description
Sculptural installation of dolls' houses, packing crates and fruit crates. The dolls' houses vary in their age and style, all of them are lit from the inside using LED bulbs. They are arranged on 'hills' which have been created using the crates.
Production type
Unique
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Place (Village)
The artist, Rachel Whiteread, turned this whole room into a work of art using dozens and dozens of doll’s houses she collected. She made the artwork to look like a village on a hill.
It’s night-time. All the lights are on, but is anyone around?
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery, Small Worlds, sub-section panel]
Credit line
Given by Rachel Whiteread
Object history
Place (Village)
was first shown in Naples in 2007, using 52 houses, and was later exhibited in Spain, the USA, and at London’s Hayward Gallery. On each occasion it was shown in a different configuration. A site-specific installation was created for the V&A Museum of Childhood in collaboration with the artist’s studio. Rachael Whiteread donated the artwork to the Museum in 2017 [2017/85].
The work was redisplayed in a new configuration for Young V&A.
Historical context
Rachel Whiteread was born in Ilford in 1963, she was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993, and was one of the 'Young British Artists' who exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1997. Among her best known works are
House
(1993), a cast of the inside of an entire Victorian terraced house; the Holocaust memorial at Judenplatz, Vienna (2000); and
Monument
(2001), for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, a transparent resin cast of the plinth itself, inverted and placed on top of it. Other works by Whiteread are held in the V&A collections: a poster for the 2012 Olympic Games in London;
Herringbone Floor
(2001), a laser-cut relief; and
Second Hand
(2004), a group of 3D-printed dolls’ house-sized furniture.
Production
The installation consists of mainly mass-produced 20th century dolls' houses.
Subject depicted
Dolls' Houses
Summary
'Place (Village)' is an assemblage of more than 100 dolls’ houses of mismatched styles, collected by the artist over a period of about twenty years. It is a quietly unsettling sculptural work which uses dolls' houses, packing cases and fruit crates to evoke a sprawling hillside community. They are lit from within, but are devoid of both people and objects. The perpetual ‘night’ created by the painted walls and blacked-out windows, allied to the emptiness of the houses, provokes an awed, haunted atmosphere, and a curious feeling of melancholy.
This work was influenced by the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A) from its inception: Whiteread recalled that as a child she was mesmerized by its famous collection of dolls’ houses. As an adult, she became interested in dolls’ houses as repositories for memory and family history, since many are passed down through generations of family members. Dolls’ houses can also be a means of personal expression, through collecting items to adorn them, by decorating them, and through playing with them. The absence of people and things in 'Place (Village)' encourages the viewer to invent their own stories about the dwellers’ activities, or about what has happened to the people and their possessions.
Bibliographic reference
Collection
Young V&A Collection
Accession number
B.21-2017
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created
June 17, 2015
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1316194/place-village-installation-rachel-whiteread/
Download as:
JSON
You may also like