The Front Room (Home Sweet Home)

The Front Room was recreated as simple installation as part of the group exhibition Home Sweet Home, about the social history of English (largely white working class and middle class homes) interiors from the 1970s onwards that featured in the work of British documentary photographers.

The exhibition was curated by Isabelle Bonnet, and mounted in the Photography Festival in Arles, and later the Centre for Photography in Lille, as part of Les Rencontres De La Photographie, 2019.

McMillan wanted to work with migrant communities in France to explore the cultural politics around Brexit, but this was considered too politically sensitive. Moreover, there wasn’t sufficient time to carry out this type of research given the tight schedule of shipping installations materials to Arles.

This included soft furnishings, ornaments and framed portraits from McMillan’s collection that had been used in other iterations of The Front Room. There were also newly bought items from second-hand shops, such as a radiogram, glass cabinet and a single armchair.