Inside outside

Rose Finn-Kelsey said there is a a divergence between the experience of the subject and what is visible to the spectator.

This inconsistency between internal experience and external observation is a theme that the artist continued to explore in the 1970s.

For her later installation, Book and Pillow, 1978 (collection of the artist),

Finn-Kelcey modelled a ‘small being’ That she called her "animus" into whom she projected the unconfident side of her own personality. She claimed this character had a negative influence on her ability to communicate, making her speech clumsy and clichéd.

She explained, ‘The outward appearance is of my continuing to participate and even lead the discussion. While internally I’m fighting, panicking’ (quoted in Brett, pp.7-8). The seen position is calm and controlled while the felt position is self-conscious and anxious


Brett G.  Rose Finn-Kelcey.  2013, Riding House.co.uk

The viewer is invited to put their head against the pillow to examine the book.

Touching the pillow stops the relentless buzzing of a fly which is broadcast round the room, only when the head is lifted does the buzzing return.


The little red figure which resembles an homunculus, was made by Tony McVey a Model maker at the Natural History Museum, . It was created from Rose' description, as Rose felt she could only feel it, not see it.

It is reminiscent of a foetus, a foreign body but part of the host, grown by the host, resented by the host, irritating the host has the power the host grants it.

I made this small figure to symbolise an  internalised small being that feeds paranoia and doubt. There is something of the tapeworm about it.

Crossing the Line