Exhibition

The house where the artist couple D and H live is more than a backdrop here; it's the third protagonist. The space is perfectly geometrically balanced and tautly functionalist, yet also cold and a little impersonal. The modernist showhouse reflects the characters of its inhabitants, whose identity is reduced to a single capital letter. Their communication is awkward and often via the intercom. Sex is an issue and feelings are only expressed in fits and starts. Until they decide to sell the house. Leaving the place where they have lived for almost 20 years brings all their fears, dreams and memories to the surface.

Just as in her two previous films, Joanna Hogg puts the British middle classes under a magnifying glass in Exhibition. The intensity of this study is amplified by the aptly chosen cast. Performance artist D is played by Viv Albertine, guitarist of the 1980s punk band The Slits. The role of H is played by the conceptual artist Liam Gillick.