If you live in the South West you may be interested in a travelling art exhibition called Artificialia: Fake Minerals & Fancy Plinths by Bridgette Ashton. Three wooden cabinets house what appear to be elaborately presented geological specimens hinting at the desire for discovery and wonder, yet on closer inspection the contents reveal themselves as appropriations of mineral-like objects. Predominantly modelled from ceramics, the sculptures also employ cardboard and plywood with embellishments of beading, flocking and fake gold leaf . Elements of the works directly reference JH Collins’ 1871 ‘Handbook to the Mineralogy of Cornwall and Devon’ in which the author methodically describes and lists a lexicon of rocks and minerals found in the region.
If you cannot get to see the exhibition in person you may like to view the objects on-line
The work is being supported by two events which are are free to attend and can be booked through Eventbrite
- an on-line talk by Tom Cotterell, Senior Curator of Mineralogy at the National Museum Wales, at 4pm on Sunday 13th March tickets
- a trip to Herodsfoot Mine Liskeard on Saturday 19th March tickets
Further information about the aims of the exhibition can be found on the artist’s website