ART. Cont'd.

House finds a new home in gallery

Photo: The house can be seen at Tate Britain

A lifesize replica of a semi-detached house is the latest installation at the UK's Tate Britain art gallery.

The two-storey, four-bedroom pebbledash house is an exact copy of where artist Michael Landy's parents live in Essex. Every tiny detail has been recreated, from flaking paint to a Neighbourhood Watch sticker in the front window. The piece, entitled Semi-detached, is said to be about the shared human experience of living in a space. It opens at the London gallery on Tuesday. The inspiration is Mr Landy's father, John, a tunnel miner who was forced to stop work when a tunnel collapsed on him in Northumberland in 1977. John Landy was permanently injured in the accident and is still unable to carry out most physical tasks. The replica house has been split in two, and the front and back stand about 40 metres apart in the gallery. On one of the walls of the house, the artist has screened footage of his father sorting out his medicine, having a foot spa or holding a cigarette. Visitors may be disappointed that they cannot wander inside the house - number 62 - as there are no real floors or rooms in the piece. But the net curtains and even the toilet roll holder, which can be seen through the bathroom window, have been taken from the real thing. Mr Landy's last major work, Breakdown, involved destroying 7,227 of his possessions in a former department store in Oxford Street, London.-BBCNews.

In pictures: Tate Modern anniversary

Photos from L to R: #1. The Tate Modern, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary, was built as a centre for the best of the capital's modern art in a disused power station on London's South Bank. #2. The gallery's Turbine Hall has seen some impressively large art pieces in the last four years. One of them was Louise Bourgeoise's sculpture I Do I Undo, which was shown in 2000. #3. Even Bourgeois' 30ft spider sculpture had plenty of room in the vast hall, which has gone on display for a second time until 30 August.

The article continues on the following page.