Taking advantage of the Bank Holiday, the other day I went to take a leisurely look around Photo London, the international photography fair taking place at Somerset House.
Whilst wandering among wondrous examples of photography, stretching back to the earliest days of its development (pardon the pun) and experimentation, I found myself suddenly confronted by Europe 1600-1800. – Confronted may not be quite the right word but it is rather disconcerting to be unexpectedly presented with your day-to-day work whilst on holiday.
This unexpected encounter took place in the midst of Beneath the Surface (21 May – 24 August 2015), a concurrent exhibition commissioned by Photo London, curated by our Senior Curator of Photographs, Martin Barnes. The exhibition, which reflects the international scope and historical depth of the V&A’s photography collections, includes a selection of photographs from Nigel Shafran’s series Ten photographs taken for the V&A Annual Report 2012/13.
As the exhibition label text explains:
‘The V&A commissioned Shafran to take a series of photographs for its Annual Report. Navigating between the galleries, study rooms, service areas, offices and stores of the Museum he developed an archaeology of the building showing the traces of its use. Whether made in public spaces or behind the scenes, his quietly attentive photographs unveil the sculptural qualities of the everyday, and offer a candid representation of the Museum’s working life.’
It was interesting (and rather amusing) to the Europe 1600-1800 project make not one but three appearances within the series. Shafran’s photographs have been described as offering ‘a glimpse into the many roles adopted by the museum and provide a candid representation of museum life’. I think that the first two photographs definitely conjure up notions of mundane practicalities and the rather less dazzling side of museum operations.
As an Insider’s Guide:
The photograph above shows the inside of the temporary hoarding and steps covering the entrance to Gallery 7 (by the glamorous location of the ladies’ toilets off the main entrance).
The photograph below shows the card and paper remains of a number of early mock-ups in Gallery 6 (which will be The Cabinet). These mock-ups were concerned a lot with the ‘footprints’ of many of the larger objects that will displayed in this gallery. The rather dull-looking rolls of brown paper were stand-ins for some of our most impressive furniture objects.
The slightly ramshackle cardboard oblong seen propped on the table was a stand-in for this wonderful, late 16th-century, glass virginal, which is decorated with scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses lampworked in glass relief.
All three of the Europe 1600-1800 photographs feel to me as though they are reflectively recording the quiet, stillness of spaces recently abandoned following lots of activity.
I have saved my favourite for last, an image which makes lovely use of depth, showing some of the many pieces of the Meissen table fountain in the Ceramics Conservation Studio. I think that this image in particular suggests the orderliness, hands-on-practicalities and idiosyncrasies that accompany so much of museum work.
