“I like moving between that slightly voyeuristic position and then actually being in the room, becoming much more implicated in the scene.”
—Caroline Walker
Reclining on a blush pink mattress, Caroline Walker’s protagonist in 14th Floor rests her legs vertically against the patterned grey walls, her gaze locked distractedly at the ceiling. A large window frames the scene behind striating vertical blinds, revealing a stunningly soft sunset yellow sky, which is enigmatically mirrored in the frame next to the woman’s feet. Invited to adopt a somewhat voyeuristic perspective tucked behind a drawer, the viewer is taken into this private moment seemingly suspended in time. Hints of a narrative surround the woman: a pair of translucent tights at the end of the bed, a drink balanced on top of a newspaper. These subtle indicators of a story seem just out of reach, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers.
The present work is a striking example of Walker's sensitive depictions of modern women and the spaces they occupy which have garnered critical acclaim for their enigmatic depictions of interior space. Underpinned by a host of art historical titans such as the Impressionist canvases of Mary Cassatt and the charged voyeurism of Edward Hopper, Caroline Walker’s practise is strikingly contemporary in its depictions of the private and domestic sphere. Created for her degree show at the Glasgow School of Art in 2004, 14th Floor demonstrates Walker’s mastery of composition and colour from the beginning of her career and testifies to her long-standing commitment to showcasing the diverse social and cultural emotional lives of women.
