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Going back in time and The Archive Project

Earlier this week I really felt like I had stepped back in time in more ways than one as I went to look at Debbie Lyddon's wonderful exhibition at Haslemere Museum. I grew up in Haslemere and have many fond memories of visits to the Museum throughout my childhood - an elephant foot bin, a Mummy wrapped in bandages with a scary toe exposed, a stuffed bear (full size, standing) and trays and trays of beautiful butterflies to name but a few of my lasting memories. My godmother also worked at the museum and my mother just next door as a reporter on the Haslemere Herald. Professor David Bellamy also loved this museum which was his favourite and he was a frequent visitor as a child.


So I was delighted to discover that 'The Archive Project' exhibition was to be held at the Museum as it gave me an opportunity to revisit it with fond memories. I was so excited when I walked into the reception that I positively gushed about all of my memories and connections to the poor receptionist who was a bit taken aback and probably thought that I was under the influence of something!


The exhibition explores ideas about collecting, selecting, ordering and classifying through the use of textiles and mixed media and between the four contributing artists there is a good mix of work which makes for an effective and thoughtful exhibition. I have always loved the way Debbie Lyddon manipulates textiles to express her interpretation of nature and surroundings and her work certainly didn't disappoint. I particularly loved the 'Sea-purses' range using linen, wire and salt water which produced fantastic crystals giving some great textures and interest to the work.




I was also interested to see the work of Denise Jones, Mary Morris and Poppy Szaybo which I was not familiar with but very much enjoyed.

'I am drawn to threads. I see them and touch them everywhere and feel compelled to use them in my work.' states Denise Jones alongside her work in the exhibition. There was a fantastic collection of needlework paraphenalia in a cabinet alongside some of Denise's textile work and I was delighted to see that there was a 'Clark's' spool of thread which is part of my family history (see my previous 'Threads are in my genes' blog post).


Mary Morris and Poppy Szaybo also displayed some super collections of historical artefacts.



Apologies for some poor shots, it's very tricky photographing work when there are reflective surfaces to deal with but hopefully you get the idea!

I also took a few sneaky shots of some of the unframed pieces by Debbie Lyddon - just love her use of colours and textures.




'The Archive Project' Exhibition runs at Haslemere Museum until 27th February.

                                                            www.julietteodesigns.co.uk

Comments

  1. Looks like a fascinating exhibition. Love the use of salt on textiles as I've used it in my own work too- the crystals really change over time. The collections of objects are lovely.

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