Northumbria creators collaborate with English Heritage for exhibition

Researchers and designers from Northumbria University have joined forces with English Heritage to launch a new exhibition at an historic Northumberland priory.

English Heritage’s Brinkburn Priory and Manor House in Northumberland is the venue for the showcase entitled Material and Memory featuring 17 creators from the University’s School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries and the Department of Architecture and Built Environment. The exhibition will include works in mixed media, from etchings to textile prints, sculpture and furniture.

Among the signature pieces that will help redress the building as a traditional country home is a monk floor lamp in oak and paper, a candleholder, window seat and a ‘dissolution’ board game. Everything made for the exhibition takes inspiration from the sparse interior of the 19th century manor house at Brinkburn, which stands next to the beautifully restored Priory Church.

Frances McIntosh, Curator at English Heritage said: “Brinkburn Priory Manor House is like a blank canvas and exhibitions like this are a great way to use the space and allow visitors to think more deeply about the complicated layers of the building they can see.  We are delighted to be working with so much talent and look forward to opening to our visitors.”

Anthony Forsyth, Assistant Professor in Product Design at Northumbria University, said: “As designers, sites like Brinkburn are rich in inspiration; design is often concerned with the future but engaging with the past offers alternative perspectives. The works created are inspired by the site, its stories and the fabric of the buildings and each creator has found their own interpretation linked to their practice-based research. In turn, we hope that visitors will engage in aspects of the site and its history prompted by the exhibition.”

The exhibition is the latest collaboration between English Heritage and members of Northumbria University’s Design Histories group of researchers and designers in recent years. It follows projects centred around historic sites including Chesters Roman Fort and Museum, and Aydon Castle, also in Northumberland.

“The projects have also highlighted ways that organisations like English Heritage can stage exhibitions and activities in affordable and sustainable ways,” explained Anthony. “For example, we have purposely designed the plinths and display materials so that they can be re-used and repurposed without any waste.”

Material and Memory is open now at Brinkburn Priory and runs until Sunday 3 November.

Northumbria University creators involved in the exhibition include:

Anthony Forsyth (co-curator)

Department: Design

Mullion plinths

(in collaboration with Johnny Hayes, Senior Technician)

Stained oak and pine

Small consoles and plinths in various timbers (oak, pine). The pieces translate the profiles of masonry details seen in some of the windows of the manor house to create pieces that feel both contemporary and vernacular.

Assembled uplighter

Oak, waxed aluminium

In terms of function, the uplighter draws the eyes upwards, highlighting details above our heads. The piece is an assemblage of found parts and its exposed construction speaks to the layers of constructional detail revealed by the current state of the house.

Johnny Hayes

Department: Design

Mullion plinths

(in collaboration with Anthony Forsyth)

Stained oak and pine

Quatrefoil tables

(in collaboration with Josh South)

Stained ash timber

Phil Luscombe

Department: Design

Monk floor lamp

Oak, paper

Inspired by reported sightings of the ghost of a monk, the lamp evokes the form of a peaceful, slightly stooped figure. The materials and design of the lamp also borrows from typical English church architecture, furniture and artefacts.

Josh South

Department: Design

Nook candle holder

Sandcast and machined brass

The form of the candle holder references the details and proportions of a shouldered arched opening - a common architectural detail at English Heritage sites including Brinkburn. Its function is to encapsulate a pocket of space in such a way that the hollow or void almost becomes tangible itself. The space is brought to life when illuminated by candlelight, striking a contrast between surfaces, and shifting with the flicker of the flame.

Quatrefoil tables

(in collaboration with Johnny Hayes)

Stained ash timber

A collection of side-tables inspired by the quatrefoil; a decorative shape formed by partially overlapping four circles. The quatrefoil is a common emblem in architecture, heraldry and religious symbolism and is a striking feature of the decorative stained glass windows of Brinkburn Priory. The tables are finished in a variety of striking colours, referencing those found in the windows at Brinkburn.

Tom Leslie

Department: Design (alumnus)

Timber

A piece of contemporary cabinetry inspired by the timber mouldings found at Brinkburn.

Lesley-Anne Pace

Department: Design  

Textile prints

The works shown at Brinkburn are textile prints based on digital reinterpretations of wallpaper remnants found in the house.

Andrea Couture

Department: Architecture

Spatial Stitching: Brinkburn Assemblage 01

Using free-motion embroidery, this work draws inspiration from the Priory's intricate tiled floors and is to be displayed within a site-specific timber framework.

Ben Couture (co-curator)

Department: Architecture

Dining Room Window Seat

MDF sheet material

A window seat, contemporary in form but with dimensions derived from the existing architectural space. The bench invites users to sit in the Dining Room window alcove with views to the river.

Will Campbell, Dr Shaun Young, Stephen Roberts

Department: Architecture

Transferences

Aluminium mesh

Perceptions of light and shadow, material transformation, the preservation and re-interpretation of memory inform the work ‘Transferences’. Exploring through changes in physical material ‘Transferences’ reveals new spatial conditions, textures and forms.

Tim Ingleby

With Josh Williamson, Richard Watson and Weberson Santiago.

Department: Architecture

Dissolution: The Game 

‘Dissolution' is a playable board game that draws together aspects of the site's rich architectural and historical narratives through a combination of artwork and game mechanics.

Kelly MacKinnon

Department: Architecture

Traces of Brinkburn; Textile artwork

Textile artwork inspired the architectural traces, materials and rhythms at Brinkburn and by JMW Turner's 1832 painting of the Brinkburn Priory. Displayed in response to two alcoves within the main corridor at Brinkburn Manor.

A study completed by Kelly of two large fabric and textile artworks on display at Brinkburn has already been selected to appear in the architecture room at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, and is currently on display in the Wohl Central Hall in London until 18 August.

Dr Patrizio M. Martinelli

Department: Architecture

Brinkburn Memories and Invention

Digitally printed montage

A series of montages, using photos of details of Brinkburn Priory and Manor, that aim to capture their tangible and intangible character: materials, textures, and memories.

Dr Sebastian Messer

Department: Architecture

Winged Figure (Brinkburn)

Sculpture, softwood and plaster

Drawing on classical sculptural tradition, the semi-abstract figure is an uncanny spatial presence.

Dr Lesley McIntyre

Department: Architecture

'Fragments of Brinkburn'

A Scavenger Hunt

‘Fragments of Brinkburn' is an interactive exploration of etching plates that highlight the rich history, architecture, and hidden narratives of the Priory and Manor House.

Paul Ring

Department: Architecture

Later Bedroom

A0 drawing; pencil, ink, tracing paper (scanned; printed on canvas) polished concrete; timber

A free-standing translation of the remnant architectural delineations of the Later Bedroom as a singular, cleansed depiction. The extraordinary ordinariness of the Library doorway is portrayed through a drawn examination of its layered visible, hidden, present and absent orientations.

Kelly MacKinnon, Dr Sebastien Messer, Dr Lesley McIntyre

Department: Architecture

Of Foes and Fays - Installation

Fabric, dyes

Installation inspired by the legend that Brinkburn is the burial site of the King of the Fairies. The diaphanous fabric, dyed with a colour palette inspired by Turner's painting of the Priory, will dance with any air movement.