Mike Nelson is a British installation artist known for his immersive installations, which invite the viewer to explore enigmatic settings. His imaginary spaces show traces of occupation, despite the human figure's absence. Using found items, frequently transformed into free-standing sculptures, Nelson's work bears a strong emphasis on the object's sensuality and its power to communicate the past contexts and histories it has been a part of.

The genesis of - Cloak of rags (banister, with baubles)
is tied to Nelson's installation at the USB bank headquarters in Monaco. Before its renovation, it became a work place for Nelson. Entitled Cloak, Nelson has sprayed all of the interior surfaces - from the architectural parts to the objects and furniture left behind -, in blue paint. Immersed in blueness, the environment created a feeling of being trapped underwater, disturbing one's sense of perception and reality. Inspired by the connection of the location to capital, entwined with the shifting geographies of world powers and economies, Nelson looked into the past at the monastery side of pigment and color, where blue pigments were some of the rarest and highest in price. Also known as Ultramarine, the pigment was brought for the first time to Europe from Afghanistan in the 14th century and became used widely in Renaissance and later in Baroque paintings, usually for the depiction of holy subjects. - Cloak of rags (banister, with baubles)
belongs to the aftermath of the initial environment-based exhibition, where some of the architectural artifacts were removed from the initial setting, saving these pieces from demolition. The work is a continuation of Nelson's interest in self-consumption of the object and a scrutiny of the object's shift into sculpture.