Dong Yuan explores the significance of everyday domestic life and family relationships symbolised by possessions and all the objects with which we fill the places we inhabit. Having learnt that her grandmother was to move in with relatives and her house would be demolished Dong Yuan began pondering how she could use her artistic inclinations to preserve her precious memories of her grandmother's house.

Dong refers to the house as the 'harbour of her heart', always find solace in the peaceful atmosphere her beloved grandmother created. For the artist, the house represents the site of her earliest memories and ideas about the world as well as the most simple and secure of possible lifestyles and experiences. Before the demolition Dong was able to return to the house to meticulously photograph her grandmother's home. She eventually painted each photo on to a separate canvas with each painting focusing on a different item, with a different role in the house. Over 500 paintings recreated, in paint, pots and pans, piles of newspapers, kitchen cabinets, window ledges and even a puddle from a wet umbrella. Through this collection of images of various sizes, Dong collages her childhood memories to form an entire reconstructed 'space' that has come to life. 'Grandmother's House' is just one part of this monumental hyper-real installation.

The artist's reflection on her own personal journey, to document the house, from Dalian to Beijing is a memorial to tradition and a meditation on the transformation of modern China.