Come and discover the Prospect Room

View of Packwood House, Warwickshire from the Prospect Room

Packwood are delighted to announce the arrival of a new contemporary art installation by London based artists Catherine Aitken and David Murphy.

Walk out into the landscape at Packwood and discover the Prospect Room positioned beyond the lake with panoramic views of Packwood’s stunning landscape. The installation explores the connection between the house and the garden, between internal and external spaces aiming to enhance Packwood’s unique spirit with a creative and contemporary twist.

" Moments of transparency, opacity and reflectivity - a space perfectly suited to daydreaming"
- David Murphy and Catherine Aitken
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Filtering light and sound it will play with our senses, present you with a new way of looking at Packwood’s ever-changing scenery and create a haven in the landscape perfectly suited for daydreaming and quiet contemplation. 

Enjoy the view across the lake from the Prospect Room
View across the lake from the Prospect Room
Enjoy the view across the lake from the Prospect Room

Incorporating cues from details found in the house and gardens, the Prospect Room will remind us of the haven that Graham Baron Ash was seeking to create at Packwood.

The Artists

Catherine Aitken is a furniture and product designer combining elements of textile design, furniture design and interior architecture. She studied at the Glasgow School of Art and most recently at the Royal College of Art, London. David Murphy also studied at the Glasgow School of Art and his sculpture and works on paper are informed by a deep engagement with landscape, architecture and anthropology, looking carefully at the ways that human interventions have left marks on the natural environment.  

" Taking design and material cues from elements of garden architecture - glass-houses, sheds, tea-houses, pergolas and arbours, we have created a sort of ‘third place’ in the Packwood landscape, borrowing characteristics from both inside and outside environments."
- Catherine Aitken and David Murphy
Catherine Aitken working in her studio
Contemporary artist in her studio
Catherine Aitken working in her studio

During the development phase of this project, Catherine and David have visited Packwood several times, talking to staff and volunteers and researching aspects of Packwood’s history.

On your next visit to Packwood don’t forget to pick up our Prospect Room frames from Visitor Reception and head out into the parkland where you can search for alternative vistas in the landscape and see the countryside through a different lens. Stop by our ‘Gardener’s View’ in the corner of the Carolean Garden where there is a recording of the artists talking about the Prospect Room and along the causeway there are three sets of way markers giving you snippets of information about the art piece.

Use the Prospect Room frame to give yourself a different perspective.
Prospect Room frames
Use the Prospect Room frame to give yourself a different perspective.

The tenure of the Prospect room has been extended, and it will now be in the landscape at Packwood until October 2020.