Edmund de Waal 'Arcanum' exhibition, National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff.
On 30th August 2005 the ceramicist Edmund de Waal was interviewed at his exhibition, 'Arcanum: mapping 18th century European porcelain: Edmund de Waal' at the National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff. 'Arcanum' was on display from 4 June - 29 August 2005 in the Museum's temporary exhibition space and included porcelain from the museum's historic De Winton collection as well as work made by Edmund in response to it.
To listen to selected clips from the audio interview with Edmund go to the audio page.
Click on the images below to see larger versions
All photographs © Copyright National Museums & Galleries of Wales / Robert Teed
Left: Detail of pots by Edmund de Waal.
Right: Edmund's kiln during unpacking.Left: Edmund's workshop in London.
Right: Edmund examining items from the De Winton collection.Left: Detail of porcelain by Edmund beside a porcelain cup from the De Winton collection.
Right: De Winton room, National Museum of Wales, 2005.Left: View of 'Arcanum' exhibition.
Right: View of 'Arcanum' exhibition.Left: Objects from the De Winton collection in store.
Right: Edmund turning excess clay from a vessel on the potter's wheel.Left: Objects from the De Winton collection in store.
Right: Base of a Meissen teapot from the De Winton collection, (made circa 1724).Left: Edmund de Waal at work at the potters wheel.
Right: A display from the Arcanum exhibition of European porcelain from the De Winton collection.
Left: Detail of a case featuring examples of plain white procelain cups from the De Winton collection.
Right: The entrance to the exhibition with one of Edmund's installations in the centre.
Left: Installation by Edmund de Waal on gallery wall.
Right: Detail of porcelain by Edmund de Waal.
Left: Porcelain pots on shelves by Edmund de Waal.
Right: Table-top installation by Edmund de Waal.
The audio interview was recorded by Matthew Partington. The interviewer was Andrew Renton, Curator of Applied Art. Andrew was Curator of the exhibition and described it as follows,
The Arcanum project was, above all, about the Museum learning new ways of using its collections. On the one hand we had the vast, wonderful but deeply unfashionable de Winton collection of 18th porcelain; and on the other Edmund de Waal, whose growing enthusiasm for the collection was hard to resist. We invited Edmund to redisplay selections from the de Winton collection alongside new work of his own, in the hope that this would revitalise the collection and offer our audiences new ways of engaging with it. We were not disappointed. Edmund’s decisions to display some porcelain outside the confines of a glazed showcase, for example, and to remove all the electric lights worried us at first but ultimately it was a liberating experience. Edmund prioritised direct engagement with the objects, legitimised personal taste, and showed that porcelain can be displayed en masse without giving the visitor visual indigestion. For me as a museum curator, the project’s legacy is that of questioning the boundaries within which we tend to operate and of following Edmund's example in combining serious academic purpose with a spirit of adventure and a more direct aesthetic relationship with the objects in our care.
A booklet accompanying the exhibition has been published by the National Museum of Wales, (ISBN 0720005647). The Arcanum project was supported by a grant from the Colwinston Charitable Trust.
Date that this item was entered on to the web-site: 27th September 2005.
