Anyone who has had any association with Stonehenge will know that it keeps calling you back. I only live a short distance from this World Heritage Site and my membership of English Heritage means that I can pop in any time. This time it was to see the new exhibition in the Visitor Centre – Linda Brothwell’s Conversations in the Making
One of the criteria that Stonehenge and Avebury met as a World Heritage Site was Criterion ii “have exerted great influence , over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture, monumental arts or town planning and landscape”. Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site’s case for meeting this criterion is: “The monuments and landscape have had an unwavering influence on architects, artists, historians and archaeologists, and still retain huge potential for future research.”
One of the new elements of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Management Plan 2015, which I co-authored with Sarah Simmonds, was the introduction of Policy 5d: Artists and the creative sector will offer new and inspiring ways for communities and a wide range of visitors to engage with and learn about the OUV of the WHS and the wide range of artistic responses to it both past and present.
Sacrilege: Jeremy Deller (Stonehenge October 2018)
To begin to fulfill this we held an Arts Symposium in November 2015 which brought together practitioners, archaeologists, museum and property managers to consider how we could work together to use the arts to interpret, explain and enjoy the historic landscape, building on the incredible creative work of Constable, Turner, Nash, Inshaw and many others. Peter Tyas submitted a guest blog to the Arts in Wiltshire blog after the event.
At that meeting and others, using the Visitor Centre for exhibitions of contemporary art was discussed, and something that I was personally keen to see, so that this tradition of drawing inspiration from the amazing landscape of Stonehenge and Avebury could be shared with both local residents and international visitors to the this iconic archaeological monument. I was delighted when I heard about the exhibition and that this vision was finally coming to fruition so of course I had to come and see for myself.
I had the gallery to myself for the majority of the time which meant that I could enjoy this carefully lit exhibition in peace. Each of the 40 vessels is given plenty of space to demonstrate the range of texture, shape and colour that Brothwell has carefully crafted. Some of them sang out like brightly coloured jewels which is hardly surprising given her training in jewellery, metalwork and silversmithing.
The creation of 40 vessels for this exhibition has been inspired by speaking to ten makers who live and work in the community; key cutter, hairdresser, tattooist, and leather worker, among others. She has also been inspired by prehistoric tools and pottery vessels in both Wiltshire Museum and the Salisbury Museum.
Tools, vessels, making and using our hands; these are the threads that link people and place through time. These are Conversations in the Making.
English Heritage
Commissioned by Ginkgo Projects for Bloor Homes in partnership with English Heritage
Linda Brothwell’s exhibition (the first contemporary art exhibition at Stonehenge) provides an intriguing new way to think about the landscape surrounding Amesbury and Stonehenge and the archaeological objects found here.
“Stonehenge has inspired art and artists for centuries – from those who illustrated medieval manuscripts, to the Romantic paintings by Constable and Turner and more recently artists such as Jeremy Deller. So it’s really exciting to host a contemporary art exhibition at Stonehenge for the first time. Linda Brothwell’s work, which looks at tools and vessels as a thread linking people and place over time, will provide an intriguing new way to think about Stonehenge and the archaeological objects found here. A visit to the new exhibition coupled with a trip to Wiltshire and Salisbury Museums to see some of the ancient objects that have inspired Linda’s work would provide a fascinating picture of Stonehenge and make a great day out.”
Susan Greaney English Heritage historian
It’s really positive to see the use of the Stonehenge Visitor Centre temporary exhibition space for this purpose; joining the historic landscape, community and art together in this way and introducing contemporary art which reflects the landscape and its archaeology. I hope that this will be the first of many such exhibitions. Stonehenge and Avebury has had such a powerful effect on artists in the past and will certainly continue to do so.
The exhibition is on until 24 November. Do take the time to take a look at this exhibition and to visit both the Wiltshire Museum in nearby Devizes and The Salisbury Museum which should be an essential part of any visit to Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.
One final link that some may find interesting is the project 30 objects / 30 years These objects were put together by Courtney Burmaster as part of her work experience while undertaking her Masters at UCL. This collection of objects demonstrate the range of objects found in or inspired by the landscapes of Stonehenge and Avebury.
Beth Thomas, Heritage Consultant 