Thursday 21 June 2012

Installing the exhibition



Yesterday we started to install the work for the exhibition ready for the preview tonight.

I started with installing the outside piece of work called '3 Bells'.
It's been fun making this piece of work, but has also given me a full case of brain ache too. The principle is this: there are 3 bells - one rings when it rains, one rings if it's windy and the third rings by solar power. It's a reference to the pseudonyms that the Bronte sisters published their works under: Currer, Acton and Ellis Bell.
When reading their novels i worked out which sister mentioned different weather elements the most - so it turns out that Emily mentions wind the most in Wuthering Heights; Charlotte mentioned precipitation (rain, snow, etc) the most in Jane Eyre and Anne mentions sunshine the most in Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The colour wheels in the exhibition are also based on this too.

The sculpture is situated in the Bronte Museum garden at the front of the house. The solar rotors work even in dull weather (which turns out to be quite handy in this spectacularly awful summer we're having so far), but it has to be a pretty stiff breeze to get the wind one to ring, plus it'll have to rain for a few hours to get the rain bell to sound. Looks like it might ring a few times tonight during the opening...

2 comments:

  1. good luck with the opening Rebecca; i won't make it, due to inability to drive at the moment! I'll make sure I get to Haworth before the exhibition closes though! enjoy! Jan

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  2. Such a brilliant use of their Pen names and weather references! Will the sculpture remain on the grounds indefinitely? It would be such a beautiful addition to the Brontë experience.

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