Conversations in Making
The first contemporary art exhibition at Stonehenge Visitor Centre, and features 40 silver and copper vessels handmade in the Bristol studio.
Often I work by first mapping a place; talking to people about what they do with their hands and with their days. Conversations in Making is my attempt to map Stonehenge and Amesbury by talking to the people who live, and have lived, here, whether through real-life dialogues with local makers or imagined exchanges with the historical figures such as the Amesbury Archer.
Influenced by the natural materials found in the countryside around Stonehenge and prehistoric artefacts from Wiltshire and Salisbury museums’ rich collections, as well as historical accounts, photographs and drawings. Particularly inspired by the story of the Amesbury Archer - a man buried with the earliest gold and copper objects, as well as metalworking tools and several beaker pots. He had travelled to Stonehenge from central Europe, bringing with him knowledge of metalworking that transformed prehistoric Britain.
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Ginkgo Projects
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2019
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Conversations in Making (solo) - Stonehenge, UK
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English Heritage
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Image credits: Jo Hounsome Photography
Excerpt of exhibition text by Katie Treggiden
Conversations in Making is Brothwell’s attempt to map Stonehenge and Amesbury by talking to local people, whether that’s through real-life dialogues with the area’s makers or imagined exchanges with the famous Amesbury Archer.
She has taken the time to understand why master thatcher Brian Chalk hides time capsules in his roofs. She has spoken to local cobbler Martin Coombes about the 100-year-old hammer he inherited from his grandfather. And she has been equally enlightened by the early Bronze Age man buried three miles from Stonehenge, who is thought to have been among those to bring ‘Beaker culture’ – with its distinctive vessels and metalworking skills – to Britain. ‘I try to hear their voices as I work,’ she says.Brothwell’s next conversation is with the metal from which she made the 40 vessels in this exhibition. She knows they could have been made less labour-intensively, but she’s not in the business of simply imposing forms onto materials: ‘Why would I spend four days with a sheet of copper, if I’m not going to listen to what it has got to say?’
Her final conversation is with you, the visitor, and the local community. As you walk around the exhibition, try to hear what she is saying. When the exhibition ends, and these objects find their way back into the community – into schools, libraries and perhaps even the local chip shop – they will be used and loved; they will remain in dialogue with the place they came from and the people who inspired them. The conversation continues.
At the close of the exhibition the 40 objects were given to the local community – into schools, libraries and perhaps even the local chip shop – where they will be used and loved. They will remain in dialogue with the place they came from and with the people who inspired them, and the conversation will continue.
