Art / bristol city museum and art gallery
The young Bristolians behind the Leonardo: Unfinished collection
500 years on from the death of historic artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, his art and legacy are being celebrated through a series of twelve exhibitions taking place across the UK, in Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing.
Bristol is one of the twelve lucky locations, and the city’s exhibition at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery has been complemented by an additional collection, Leonardo Unfinished, curated by a team of three young Bristolians.
Enlisted as part of the Young Producers Programme, the three creatives were selected in collaboration with Rising Arts Agency and Creative Youth Network. Maisie Evans, Marcin Gawin and Anika Deb were recruited to identify themes in da Vinci’s work, and worked with museum staff to select relevant objects from Bristol’s own collection for their display.
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Claire Simmons, the engagement officer for young people at the museum, explained how the three producers had started in September 2018, with a research trip to Windsor. It was here that they first got the opportunity to see original pieces of da Vinci’s work. After observing the creases and pin marks still present on the paper, the creatives felt inspired by the work’s imperfections, especially as many of the designs and illustrations had not been completed in the artist’s lifetime.
The curators on a research trip to Windsor
“It humanised him,” said Maisie.
They had divided the themes of the collection into four sections, ‘beauty and the grotesque’, ‘under the skin’, ‘thinking on paper’ and ‘the deluge’.
Maisie, Marcin and Anika described how the themes and objects were chosen to present the idea of an uncompleted work. There are also a number of contemporary comparisons to da Vinci’s work throughout the exhibit.
A number of monitors, each broadcasting a separate live-stream, cover one of the walls, encouraging the audience to question whether an artist’s work is “ever really finished”. Continuing through the collection, several other themes present in da Vinci’s work are represented, such as his studies on anatomy, geology and painting, all of which are accompanied by a group of related objects from Bristol’s extensive collection.
The exhibition includes pieces from Bristol Museum’s collection
“When it came together it was really exciting” Maisie explained. This form of long term collaboration between the museum and a group of young creatives is the first of its kind and, as Claire Simmons said, it aimed to “get more young people involved in the museum”.
“Everyone’s been so open” Anika added, saying that the project gave the three young professionals an opportunity and platform to express a “meaningful voice”.
The exhibition will be open between Feb 1 – May 6, Tues-Sun 10am-5pm with free entry for students and 16-25 year olds every Wednesday. For more information, visit: www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/leonardo-da-vinci/
Read more: Leonardo da Vinci show comes to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
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