Some time ago, I missed going to see a certain artwork, so I posted about some other sculpture I passed by instead. Since then, I took the time out to visit the public art that I wanted to post about in the first place: the Dalston House, a commission by the Barbican by Argentine architect Leandro Erlich.

I’d seen this on the news and I couldn’t quite believe how it worked: in an empty lot on a Hackney street, the facade of a 19th century terraced house was laid out on the ground. Above this a mirror at a 45-degree incline reflected this facade. The result? By sitting or lying on various spots on the ground, one could appear to be dangling from windows or scaling the walls. Fantastic, really.

It was very popular, with an usher informing new arrivals to the queue of a 75 minute wait to use the work. On arrival, one had five minutes to use the work, take photos and generally have a lot of fun. The real fun for me was in watching others use the site: it was as much to be looked at as used; once I was able to play on the site, it was a touch difficult to get the most out of it on my own. Families and couples, with some posing and others photographing, had a great time.

“75 minutes waiting time? Really?”

“75 minutes photographing this? Oh, okay then…”

Posing on the artwork…

…to be reflected in the mirror…

…and make fun photos!

A welcome addition of a welcome mat.

My turn! I took a lot of photos of my play on the artwork; this was one of the few that turned out okay.

However, a nice chap called Paul took my photo at my request.

Such strength!

Mr. Erlich is known for his immersive works, which I am going to look into reading about, if not seeing, in future. In the meantime, my photographs and others images and videos will remind me of this extraordinary work.