From the knees of my nose

For his ambitious installation, British artist and designer Alex Chinneck peeled the front of a four-storey house in Margate – that has been vacant for 11 years – away from the rest of the building.

British artist and designer Alex Chinneck has completed construction of his most ambitious installation to date after peeling the front of a four-storey house in Margate away from the rest of the building. As curving bricks, windows and doors slide into the front garden of a property that has been vacant for eleven years its upper interiors are revealed to the public.

Alex Chinneck, From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, Margate. Photo Stephen O'Flaherty

Thanet District Council gave the artist permission to use an empty property on Godwin Road in the Cliftonville area to create the artwork. Cliftonville is a district striking for both the grandeur of its architecture and for the challenging social issues it has faced in the last thirty years. Together with Margate’s widely discussed use of culture as a tool for regeneration, this provides an ideal context for the piece.

Alex Chinneck, From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, Margate. Photo Stephen O'Flaherty

The completion of construction follows a twelve-month campaign undertaken by the artist to realise his self-initiated project. Chinneck initially spent six months approaching companies across British industry to present his design and convince them to donate all the materials, manufacturing capabilities and professional services required to build the sliding facade. Alex Chinneck’s practice playfully warps the everyday world around us, presenting surreal spectacles in the places we expect to find something familiar. At 28 years old From the knees of my nose to the belly of toes is his boldest project yet as he continues to theatrically combine art and architecture in physically amazing ways. This project follows his acclaimed 2012 installation Telling the truth through false teeth, in which the artist installed 1,248 pieces of glass across the façade of a factory in Hackney to create the illusion that its 312 windows had been identically smashed and cracked.

Alex Chinneck, From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, Margate. Photo Stephen O'Flaherty

Alex Chinneck is a London based artist and designer. He is the founder of The Sculpture House, a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and a graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design.

Alex Chinneck, From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, Margate. Photo Stephen O'Flaherty


until October 2014
From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes
1 Godwin Road, Cliftonville, Margate, CT9 2HA

Alex Chinneck, From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, Margate. Photo Stephen O'Flaherty