Invited for a solo exhibition at Pump House Gallery in London, Jankowski was inspired by the site. Its interior was an idiosyncratic fusion of 19th-century architecture, 1980s interior styling, and alterations made for past exhibitions. Jankowski teamed up with television presenter and interior designer Gordon Whistance to create a home makeover-style TV show with Pump House Gallery as its subject.
The project was a real challenge for Whistance, because a gallery requires appropriate conditions for two very demanding guests: viewers and artworks. First, he visited different exhibition spaces as research. Next, Whistance, Jankowski, and the gallery director discussed the gallery’s problem areas. Then, they contracted a team of builders to modify the gallery according to Whistance’s instructions.
They installed a large glass entrance door, ripped out the baseboards, refinished the wood floor, unified the lighting system, and painted the new walls Jankowski Perfect Gallery White – a color created specifically for the artist by the paint company Farrow & Ball. Visitors to Jankowski’s show were met with a new but empty building: clean, calm, and contemporary.
To Whistance’s surprise, the only physical work included in the space was a video chronicling the makeover, though the renovation itself was also part of Jankowski’s work. The project combined a critique of contemporary makeover shows with reflections on the tradition of the white cube – and left behind an
architectural legacy benefitting both visitors and the works of future artists

Site-specific permanent installation

Video
(1 _ Digital Beta Cam, 1 _ DVD), 33:54 min, PAL, 16:9 anamorphic, color, sound, English with subtitles (German), edition of 5, II
©Christian Jankowski