Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
London Metropolitan University
'The Life of the Mind. Love Sorrow and Obsession' exhibition at the New Art Gallery Walsall and permanent installation of the ‘Garman Ryan Archive Gallery’ based on a three year residency.
The New Art Gallery Walsall commissioned me to work with the Garman Ryan Archive as part of the initiative ‘New Ways of Curating’; a collaboration between the Arts Council England and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The project involved a three year residency (September 2009 - May 2011) in the Garman Ryan Archive, culminating in the permanent installation of an ‘Archive Gallery’ and the exhibition 'The Life Of The Mind: Love, Sorrow And Obsession' (21 January - 20 March 2011), both curated by my artistic persona Bob and Roberta Smith.
The artworks and curatorial strategy acted as a counterargument to the established power structure of artist and institution. Taking a performative approach to institutional critique, it offered a playful, visual and subversive perspective.
Works from the collection were exhibited in the context of a broader problematic from my research in the archive. The interlinked stories that I uncovered were drawn into the exhibition and themes of mental health were investigated through art practice, workshops and curation. This was a pioneering experiment to bring alive stories related to art and artists through a collection. The addition of an artistic voice making critical interventions with archive material was an innovation.
'LOTM' has been discussed widely in a-n, the Independent, at a panel discussion at the ICA and an MLA conference in Walsall attended by Museum staff from across Britain. The MLA also hosted a seminar at the Manchester City Art Gallery including LOTM as a case study. In a report by the MLA, the project was cited as one of NAGW’s most popular and successful exhibitions with around 3000 visitors each week. The NAGW published, ‘How to let an Artist Rifle through your Archive’ following the residency and produced over 30 short films on the project to reach new audiences.
