"DRAW ME A HOUSE"
a participatory project and archive, 2022
A collaborated project with Thomas Jacques
Archive of house drawings, table, chairs, screens, archival material
“One of My First drawings that I can remember is one of a white house, a free standing house in a green meadow. The house
was rather symmetrical with two windows and a door in the middle, smoke coming out of the chimney.
I can't remember if there was a tree next to it or if the sky was blue or if I drew a sun in one of the corners.
The strangest thing about it, was that we didn't live in a free standing white house, nor was it symmetrical. Somehow this
archetypical house form found his way into my head. But where did it come from? And how did it infiltrate my head?”
uit: Je ne suis pas rentré,
An essay on the boundaries of domestic space.
written by Jonas Vansteenkiste
Very early in a person's life we learn about the concept of a house. They show up early in children's drawings.
Houses protect us from the cold, the heat and other possible dangers. We need some kind of
basic security to be able to sleep. It is a universal concept, and yet everyone has a different
conceptualization of it in his mind, as evidenced by the wide variety of houses in the world.
It is a universal desire that also came under pressure during corona in the last 3 Years.
The house and our relationship to the concept and the feelings around it may have changed to the very foundation.
With the project 'Draw me a house' the artists Jonas Vansteenkiste and Thomas Jacques want to gather a collection of
drawings in order to compile an archive of houses. Together they are investigating how houses
can be classified.
What do the houses tell us?
How can we read them?
How do different people react to the concept of house?
Does an inmate visualize a house differently than a free citizen?
Does an accountant look differently than an artist?
Is this image and desire of a house nature or nurture and where does this
interpretation of this image start?
'Draw me a house' is a participatory project in which anyone can participate.
The assignment is simple; draw us a house and fill in a short questionnaire. All submitted drawings and answers will become part of the
research project, which will find its form in an installation with accompanying video.
The installation will be used again and again to collect new drawings, so the project will evolve over time, and our search for the meaning of the "original house" will continue.
meaning of the 'archetypal house'.
Participate with your drawing!
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