High on the Summit Ridge

Travelling Gallery’s second 2023 exhibition was ‘High on the Summit Ridge’ by Gabecare.

Gabecare is a collaborative art project by Rachel Adams and Tessa Lynch which investigates the domestic mess of 21^st century living. They take their name from little known American inventor Frances Gabe who devoted much of her life to designing and building the world’s one and only self-cleaning home.  In an attempt to rid herself of the thankless, unpaid, and never-ending housework, Gabe used her own money and construction skills to develop and build a house that cleaned, rinsed, and dried everything from the dishes in the cupboard to clothes in the wardrobe. She eventually received a patent for her design in 1984.

Exploring the unpaid labour that goes into housework, Gabecare draw our attention to who carries out the care and maintenance at home (tidying is a task that is noticed when it’s not done but unnoticed when it’s done) while at the same time managing to embrace and even celebrate the continual messiness of our daily lives. Taking inspiration from social history and the evolution of housework, Gabecare created an enjoyable installation which provoked storytelling and memories, while also digging deeper and questioning the economy around housework and care.

The exhibition also included objects selected by the artists from Museums and Galleries Edinburgh‘s social history collection.