sarah bennett

Vitrine (2023 and ongoing)

I recently found a rather lovely oak and glass vitrine, circa 1900, for my new home in Exeter. It has three glass shelves (410mm x 560mm), and the base is oak. It stands in a corner of the living room in my 1920s house.

I always wanted a vitrine of my own:  a glass cabinet in which I could showcase various treasured artefacts. I also thought that, if I had just the right kind, I could invite artist friends to install their artworks for short interludes.

So, now I have the vitrine and it is empty and awaiting the first of—what I hope will be—many forays by artists from my UK and international networks. Each installation will be documented to be compiled into an occasional publication.

I am excited to announce that artists Megan Calver and Gabrielle Hoad have agreed to collaborate on the inaugural ‘Vitrine’ in November 2023.

Vitrine I

Delicate Instruments (Vibrating Stillness)
25th November
- 21st December 2023
Vitrine, Exeter (viewing by appointment only)

Shifting between scientific and psychical thinking, Delicate Instruments suggests new ways to tune into hidden signals from the more-than-human.

Obscured by a veil, the vitrine initially withholds its contents. A closer look reveals them as objects held in unstable equilibrium and sensitive to the slightest stimuli: from trembling paper cases balanced on the points of nails, to indigo carbon paper primed to register subtle touch.
 
Some of these instruments are drawn from the realm of psychical experimentation, where they might have been placed in a sealed cabinet to isolate them from air currents and other physical influences.

Delicate Instruments was originally presented at the Devon & Exeter Institution as a part of a CAMP Research Residency. This latest iteration has been created specially for Vitrine.

Gabrielle Hoad and
Megan Calver