Lyndall Phelps

Abundance

A temporary installation jointly commissioned by St Albans Museums and University of Hertfordshire Galleries

Abundance resulted from the first phase of a residency at the Museum of St Albans. Last year the Museum moved from its former Victorian premises, to be re-located in the re-developed Town Hall late 2017. As the collections were being removed I gradually converted the spaces into a new installation which focused on the light industries in St Albans from the 1870s to the 1970s, such as Ballito, hosiery manufacturers; Heath & Heather Ltd, herb specialists; H. Rose & Sons, brush manufacturers and Ryder Seeds, seed merchants.

I began by re-painting the entire space in a white, gold and metallic blue, green and purple colour scheme, then introduced fresh museum objects and archival material alongside my own artistic responses to the theme, which included meticulously painted golf balls, golf tees and broad bean seeds, delicately suspended rose petals and seed pods, quirky bird figurines and embellished ladies stockings.

Throughout the Museum’s transition I will continue collaborating with staff and volunteers to make the collections visible and accessible to the general public through contemporary art interventions. The residency will culminate in a context-specific installation for the new Museum and Art Gallery.