Behind the Scenes with the Friends
Behind the Scenes with the Friends
Behind the Scenes with the Friends
Behind the Scenes with the Friends
The statue by the Raqs Media Collective, “Coronation Park: Bending” arrived at the Whitworth Gallery in 2017 as part of their Exhibition, “Twilight Language”. The timing couldn't have been better. As debate raged about who our public art should commemorate, “Bending” offered a new way of challenging our colonial past - satire, irony and humour. From a distance, “Bending” might have been made of marble, like the other statues which had once celebrated the crowning of Britain’s monarchs as Indian Emperors. In fact, the plinth was constructed of plywood , painted in bitumen. The statue itself was fibreglass and resin, and - a metaphor - entirely hollow. The face was a blank disc.
The Invitation to Showcase: April 2019
When the exhibition closed in 2018, The Friends of the Whitworth were happy to help the Gallery acquire this important and provocative work and to see it installed in the Park. In fact, it was the work we chose for the invitation to our celebratory Showcase in 2019. Time passes though, and now, five years later, “Bending”, the figure, has been brought indoors for urgent restoration. Meanwhile its plinth has been entirely reconstructed with much needed, but imperceptible, modifications made to create a stronger and more sustainable structure.
Lou Ashon Behind the Scenes in the Conservation Area, examining the infrastucture to support "Bending" when it returns to its final location
Lou Ashon, the conservation expert overseeing this work, invited Friends to join her for a close look at the work so far and to hear more about what’s been involved and what more remains to be done. We were amazed by the amount of research required into the original construction and how important the knowledge gained from that is to the restoration process. Lou also told us about various choices that have to be made to insure, for instance, that the materials used in the restoration are the best available for now, but might still leave open the possibility of using improved materials should they become available in the future.
Lou explains the detailed research that underpins the restoration work
Mapping and matching the paintwork
Spending time with the Whitworth’s expert staff, and going behind the scenes with them, are just a couple of the privileges that come with membership of the Friends of the Whitworth. Knowing that we are helping to build the Gallery’s collection is another.
You can join the Friends of the Whitworth (£27 p.a single membership, £45 p.a. for two people at the same address) by completing the form on this website. We will send you a Bank Mandate to complete and return and we do the rest.
The statue by the Raqs Media Collective, “Coronation Park: Bending” arrived at the Whitworth Gallery in 2017 as part of their Exhibition, “Twilight Language”. The timing couldn't have been better. As debate raged about who our public art should commemorate, “Bending” offered a new way of challenging our colonial past - satire, irony and humour. From a distance, “Bending” might have been made of marble, like the other statues which had once celebrated the crowning of Britain’s monarchs as Indian Emperors. In fact, the plinth was constructed of plywood , painted in bitumen. The statue itself was fibreglass and resin, and - a metaphor - entirely hollow. The face was a blank disc.
The Invitation to Showcase: April 2019
When the exhibition closed in 2018, The Friends of the Whitworth were happy to help the Gallery acquire this important and provocative work and to see it installed in the Park. In fact, it was the work we chose for the invitation to our celebratory Showcase in 2019. Time passes though, and now, five years later, “Bending”, the figure, has been brought indoors for urgent restoration. Meanwhile its plinth has been entirely reconstructed with much needed, but imperceptible, modifications made to create a stronger and more sustainable structure.
Lou Ashon Behind the Scenes in the Conservation Area, examining the infrastucture to support "Bending" when it returns to its final location
Lou Ashon, the conservation expert overseeing this work, invited Friends to join her for a close look at the work so far and to hear more about what’s been involved and what more remains to be done. We were amazed by the amount of research required into the original construction and how important the knowledge gained from that is to the restoration process. Lou also told us about various choices that have to be made to insure, for instance, that the materials used in the restoration are the best available for now, but might still leave open the possibility of using improved materials should they become available in the future.
Lou explains the detailed research that underpins the restoration work
Mapping and matching the paintwork
Spending time with the Whitworth’s expert staff, and going behind the scenes with them, are just a couple of the privileges that come with membership of the Friends of the Whitworth. Knowing that we are helping to build the Gallery’s collection is another.
You can join the Friends of the Whitworth (£27 p.a single membership, £45 p.a. for two people at the same address) by completing the form on this website. We will send you a Bank Mandate to complete and return and we do the rest.
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