Exclusion : The Pastry Room Door, Penrhyn, Gwynedd

Oil on Board
28x35.5cm (board)
35.5x43cm (framed)
I took the photograph for this painting in the servants’ quarters at Penrhyn Castle.
What struck me was the door. There is no handle on this side. Beyond it, through the glass, is a well-stocked room — visible, but only accessible with the permission of someone on the other side. The chest in the foreground is locked too.
It seemed a fitting metaphor for the huge disparity between the immense wealth of families such as the Pennants and the working people whose labour helped create it. Social mobility was much the same as that room beyond the door: you could see it, perhaps, but that didn’t mean you could get there.
Sometimes a quiet room can say rather a lot.