Exhibition of works created during time as Artist in Residence at Whitby Museum; this response to the collection
reflects the expansive and eclectic nature of the museum which Layla and so
many other visitors have grown so fond of. The work consists of two different
aspects, one to embody the artist’s own reflections on the collection, and the
other to represent the people of Whitby and the ever evolving nature of
collecting.
The Cabinet
Cabinets of Curiosities were notable collections of objects
– originally a room, but by the 16th Century actual cabinets were
emerging. Within Whitby Museum’s notable collection of objects, is the Ripley
Cabinet of Curiosities – a collection within a collection. The objects
contained in these collections are made all the more interesting by the stories
that come with them – without the stories, they are just objects. Members of
the public were invited to take part in a public workshop, taking casts and
stories from people connected with Whitby, and the curious objects which they
hold dear. These objects were not valuable in the traditional sense, but of
sentimental or emotional value – of no worth or meaning to anybody but the
person who has collected them. This object was then moulded, and a plaster cast
made as a replica, to be featured in an all new Cabinet of Curiosities of
objects loved by the people of Whitby along with their stories, displayed
alongside the original Ripley Cabinet.
The Dinner Service
A table is laid for dinner, the guests all significant
figures inspired by the museum collection and
the history of Whitby. Each dinner guest has their own bespoke place
setting inspired by themes within the museum, side plates link to these themes
with verses inspired by the “Sunderland-ware” ceramics in the collection. The
walls are adorned with ink illustrations on antiquated encyclopaedia pages,
inspired by the extensive library collection, and the “Hand of Glory” has been
liberated from it’s dark, mythic origins in the form of candle holders to light
the table.
