Sanctum

Interior design survey from fashion photographer, journalist and interiors enthusiast Mark C. O'Flaherty exploring atmospheric interiors with a sense of the gothic and uncanny.

Sanctum presents interiors that appear to predate their current inhabitant—and will live on after they are gone. It is a book about homes that contain intriguing textures and a past life, transformed and reinterpreted by the people who live with them now. The objects frequently come with dramatic narratives; their juxtaposition creates often fantastical conversations. Some of these homes are, effectively, living museums, as well as studios where new work is being created.

You can buy interior design, but the uncanny has to be fostered: it’s not a commodity with a price tag attached. Everyone represented in the book displays a confidence that is rare in contemporary interiors. Nothing is contrived, and almost none of them has engaged an interior designer.

A key literary reference for the project is In Praise of Shadows, the Junichiro Tanizaki book referenced repeatedly by designers and architects, which asserts that true beauty comes from flaws and ageing. Where there might be modernity evident in some of these interiors, it will be tethered by the provenance of objects that range from memento mori to esoteric architectural salvage. There are antique children's toys and objects from theatre and fashion shows that have become a part of the collective cultural imagination.

Featuring the homes of the likes of Agnès B, Simon Costin, Philip Lim, and Pol Theis, these are spaces that tap into our fascination with the dilapidated grandeur of urban exploration, the bohemian sensibilities of eccentric collectors, and our curiosity for all things gothic and esoteric.