Hidden Door Exhibition, Edinburgh

While we were away on holiday, Edinburgh unveiled an incredible installation art exhibition called Hidden Door on Market Street. Fortunately the day we came home we had just enough time to pop down and get a quick look before the show closed, which we were both really excited about!

The show took place in the old empty archways that lead to Waverley Station. These little spaces have been boarded up for years and never opened to the public before, so it was really great to finally take a peek inside. Edinburgh's old town is infamously haunted so I suspect these dark, damp cellars have some pretty great stories behind them! 

Disappointingly this will be the only time these spaces have ever been enjoyed by the public in recent years. Our fabulous artists managed to get in here and bring 9 days of installations, art, music, poetry and performance before the council replace them with shop units and other ugly things that we probably don't need (another tiny supermarket perhaps?)

After making such an amazing discovery, we can't help but feel quite frustrated and bitter about the new decisions. Why can't we have more shows like this in our city? We clearly have a lot of incredible artists with all kinds of different backgrounds that just need a little bit of space to show you their talents. 

I'd hate to think about the level of planning and permission that went into running this event, but with so many passionate people behind it you can see how well their time and efforts paid off. In the evenings there were a series of bands playing gigs in one set of archways, in another there was a cinema... not to mention all the beautiful paintings, videos, and odd collections behind each wooden doorway along the road too. 

To come home from holiday to discover this transformation was incredibly inspiring. Not only does it make us want to experiment more with the mediums we use when creating our own artworks, but it makes us think about how we're utilising our spaces too. I want to find tiny hidden spots to shove some art in too! 

Each room felt like stepping into someone else's mind. One room had a twisting corridor that was pitch black inside so you had to feel the walls to be able to navigate through it. It was a bit like being blind! Another was full of pianos that you could go in and play - I imagine these created quite a racket whilst we were away!

I think my favourite room would be the one that had half a circle of film projected onto the back wall. The artist had filled a shallow tank of water on the floor of the cellar and, when the room was completely dark, you could see a full circle of film. You felt like you were floating! It was really beautiful - I wish I had caught the makers name because it's someone I would love to research!

Overall, we had a wonderful visit during our short time there. I would have loved to been able to share this post for more of you to go and see it before it ended... hopefully Edinburgh's big wigs will see the value in hosting these types of events and start doing them more often.

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in and helped organise Hidden Door  - you've all been an inspiration to us! We can't wait to see what wonderful things you come up with next...