Tate Britain

Becky Beasley’s The Outside2012, an installation which incorporates photographs, was made following a visit to the private apartment of the Italian architect and designer Carlo Mollino in Turin. Beasley discovered the blueprints for a pair of swing doors which Mollino designed but never produced. These became the inspiration for the works in Beasley’s Art Now presentation, also influenced by Mollino’s book Message from the Darkroom 1949, the first history of photography published in Italian.

Becky Beasley’s photographs and sculptures develop from concerns such as the anxieties of decision-making, sanctuary, the history of photography and the approach of death. In recent years, she has incorporated a close reading of literary works and historical episodes.

Following a visit to the private apartment of the Italian architect and designer Carlo Mollino in Turin - which he spent the latter part of his life decorating and photographing without ever actually living there - Beasley discovered the blueprints for a pair of swing doors which Mollino designed but never produced. The dimensions for these became the inspiration for the works in The Outside. Mollino’s beautifully produced book, Il Messaggio Dalla Camera Oscura (Message from the Darkroom) 1949, the first history of photography published in Italian, also became important to Beasley.

Beasley has carefully choreographed the relationship between the two and three-dimensional work presented here. She has designed the linoleum floor as a key element of the installation to emphasise the symmetry of this perfectly square windowless room. The Outside is concerned with a space that is ultimately deeply interior.