Interior matter

This introductory article maps out the relationship between life writing and interiors. It examines the connections between interior spaces, interior matter and interior selves and foregrounds how interiorities are shaped across material and visual cultures. It takes as a springboard the work of life writing and auto/biography scholars who have expanded the limits of what is considered autobiographical practice and reoriented the field beyond the textual. Using Justine Varga's photograph Maternal Line as a point from which to think about interiority and the representation of life, the article then outlines how the contributors to this special issue explore the thematic of interiors with a focus on the visual and material. The article highlights the importance of the background fabric of daily life for understandings of interior things, spaces and selves. It argues that addressing interior matter, spaces and selves requires noticing the many entanglements between them.