Raphael Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, London - September 2009
The Collection was a collection that the public created within the Raphael Gallery: the gallery was set out with a number of empty vitrines filled with the memories of ceramic objects that visitors to the space cherish and hold dear. Visitors were invited by trained staff to draw their ceramic memories on specially designed cards; these cards were then folded and ‘placed’ by assistants in the cases. In three days over 2000 drawings were made of ceramic objects and these filled the cases as a temporary display of a public ceramic collection. The work formed links between curatorship, ceramics and our everyday understanding of what it means to own objects and display them.
The placement of the vitrines within the gallery mirrored the architectural space, encouraging the audience to be aware of their surroundings and the relationship of the space to the paintings in the room. On entering the gallery each visitor was given one very beautiful museum card and was shown to a writing bench to draw, write and sketch their most favorite ceramic object, one that they themselves owned or knew about; these cards invited a sense of quality, longevity and importance to the act of giving ones memories and thoughts to a museum collection. This act of drawing created links to the master works in the Raphael Gallery and emphasised the importance of putting images to paper; the card was then given to one of curatorial attendants in the space.
The attendants placed the cards in one of the vast number of vitrines that occupied the Raphael Gallery; the collection was already begun with responses from a selection notable artist, designer’s supporters of the V&A. These pre-drawn cards were placed in the vitrines to act as guidance and inspiration to visitors on the opening weekend.
As each card was added The Collection grew and could be viewed simultaneously; it was a unique and ubiquitous collection of objects of great worth to the audience, formed over the three-day opening event. This personal collection related the museum to the home and encouraged the audience to consider the ceramics collection in terms of objects that relate to the everyday lives of the past and the contemporary.
