Sally Ryan’s work focuses on her relationship with her bedroom as both a physical and emotional space. By looking closely at the furniture and the actions connected to it, she documents the small, repetitive rituals that shape her day-to-day life.
Her bed is a central part of her work due to her struggles with sleep. It has become a place of comfort and safety, but also somewhere she spends much of her time. Living at home and often preferring her own company, the bedroom starts to feel like a self-contained space, almost like a studio apartment.
Her work explores what happens within this space, from the actions that take place in bed to the underlying anxieties connected to her wardrobe and her self-image. Through installation, she recreates the atmosphere of her bedroom, aiming to immerse the viewer in both the comfort and the unease that exist at the same time.
Working across photography, video, sound, projection, and sculptural elements, she reflects how the space feels; warm, safe, and familiar on the surface, but layered with stress and anxiety underneath.