A Polychromy in Black (Artworks for Bideford Black: The Next Generation)
- Submitting institution
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Falmouth University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 252
- Type
- M - Exhibition
- Venue(s)
- Burton Art Gallery & Museum, Devon, UK
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of first exhibition
- October
- Year of first exhibition
- 2015
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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F - Inequality and storytelling
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- A Polychromy in Black was a funded commission, exhibition and publication that was underpinned by the use of archives and historical material. The commission’s purpose was to recommunicate Bideford Black (BB) – a unique, natural pigment mined in Devon – and its history for contemporary audiences. A primary goal was to stimulate new artworks that tell stories and communicate histories to audiences with little prior knowledge of the subject. An overarching aim of my research-as-practice work was to further question how an artist might be relevant in opening up little-seen archives.
My research examined the history of black and how black ink, now used as ‘standard’, historically represented the whole visual world, through variations of monochrome line/dot/cross-hatch in engraving/print. Artefacts from The Burton Art Gallery and Museum (BAGAM)’s archives formed the basis of the historical research. Nine artefacts were selected for their relationship to Bideford or Bideford’s inhabitants and their exploration of representations of shadow, gloom, darkness or tone. Each artwork informed a unique graphite drawing, created to form a set of tones for Bideford, reinterpreting this material as a set of Bideford tones. These were then printed using the Bideford Black ink I had developed and installed as wall-based printed ‘shadows’ and as prints to take away.
As a result of my research I created:
• A useable (permanent quick-drying) letterpress ink using BB by exploring historical source material
• A set of Bideford-focused printed tones for public distribution
• A publication documenting the process
BAGAM is a community art gallery and museum. It recorded over 13500 visitors to the space during the show. Liberty Smith was commissioned to document the artists’ processual journeys/artworks and her resulting film was presented online and throughout the exhibition.
Research Output: Exhibition
Contextual: Process documents, reviews, websites
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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