Sara Farrington, a Myrtle Beach native now living and working in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area, is a professional artist and educator. She received an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina and an MAT in Art Education from Coastal Carolina University. Her series, Model Home, is a site-responsive sculptural installation of staged domestic spaces. The modular, to-scale components include furniture, electrical outlets, light switches, picture frames, rugs and even baseboards. All of these elements are created using heavyweight drawing paper. 

The “foundation” for the series is rooted in traditional drawing, but the work expands beyond the two-dimensional picture plane and into three-dimensional space. Space functions as an image rather than reality, much like model homes. Every piece is the same crisp white hue, reminding us of the ceaseless struggle to keep our own spaces looking clean and bright. The work is a metaphor for the American ideal—the commodity of a perfect domestic space marketed for status, which is an unattainable goal for most. Model Home underscores the “futile and somewhat antagonistic” attempts made to achieve the appearance of perfection. 

Farrington will be bringing the Model Home series to the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum this fall. Since her renditions are created in response to the space that contains them, you will be able to see what she creates for the historic beach-villa-turned-museum venue in Myrtle Beach. Model Home opened in late September and will run through December 20.