The Space Between, concertina book, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

‘The Space Between’ is my concertina book that I made for the opening of the Roman Gallery at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.   I made it as part of an exhibit that was inspired by the physical and temporal space between the two iconic structures at Wroxeter – The Old Work (part of the basilica wall built around 150 AD and at one time the only indication that a city existed) and the new recreated town house.   

Further the title extends to the space between floor level (the herringbone floor) and the Roman artefacts excavated from the earth below.  The herringbone floor pattern contains the wear of human traces and has had to keep being re-laid throughout the years.  At the present time it lies hidden from sight in the city beneath a protective membrane.

Artefacts depicted in the work are from the museum at Wroxeter Roman City; however, one of the exhibits, a pair of gold votive eyes is exhibited in the British Museum. I was very lucky that I was able to go and sketch the gold votive eyes behind the scenes at the British Museum and talk to the curator Ralph Jackson about them.

I have brought a little bit of the Wroxeter Museum into Shrewsbury Museum and also used an artefact exhibited in the British Museum, making links between the three museums.

The inside of the cover is screen printed with my design inspired by the herringbone floor which also contains highlights from the floor which resembles geophysical surveys.  Only 1/60 of the site has been excavated and most of it has had geophysical surveys taken of it.