Opening at the museum on 8 January 2022, the exhibition is the result of a four-year project studying the unexplored depths of the Alfred Tennyson archives.
Artists Sarah Bennett, Andrew Bracey and Danica Maier have put together the exhibition, called ‘Bummock’ – a term used to describe the large part of an iceberg hidden below the water. They hope that through this project they can bring these hidden aspects of the Tennyson Research Centre’s archive into public view; for the ‘bummock’ to become the ‘tip’.
The Tennyson Research Centre is considered the most significant collection in the world relating to Lord Alfred Tennyson, housing a wealth of information and material on the Lincolnshire-born poet.
The three artists have created new artworks motivated by their research into the unseen and often undervalued parts of the archive. These works are shown alongside the artworks will be the objects and related stories from the archive that inspired them.
Jenny Gleadell, exhibitions and interpretation officer at The Collection, said:
“This exhibition offers a new insight not only into the life and work of Alfred Tennyson, but also the wider Tennyson family and the lives of others in the period.
“Without a project like this, many of these objects and stories would have remained hidden deep within the Tennyson archives. This is an opportunity to see them alongside the unique artworks they have influenced.”
Sarah Bennett's research in the Tennyson archive focused on accounts of various illnesses suffered by Tennyson’s immediate family, and the medications and therapies used as treatments during the nineteenth century. She has also investigated the situation of the female Tennysons who were excluded from a university education, unlike their male counterparts.
The catalysts for Andrew Bracey’s artworks were the jottings and drawings in the miniature notebooks of Alfred and Emily Tennyson’s eldest son, Hallam. He has recreated selected pages from the notebooks using woodblock prints, to give a fascinating insight into the upbringing and daily life of Tennyson’s children, and of Victorian life in general.
Danica Maier has created a variety of drawings, embroidery, live readings and other works inspired by Alfred Tennyson’s great niece Fryn (Winifred) Tennyson Jesse. A noted and pioneering writer in her own right, Jesse is now little known beyond her great-uncle’s legacy.
‘Bummock: Tennyson Research Centre’ by Sarah Bennett, Andrew Bracey, Danica Maier is on at The Collection Museum, Danes Terrace, Lincoln from Saturday 8 January until Sunday 20 February 2022.
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