Here is a behind the scenes sneak peek at the installation Armistice: Legacy of the Great War in Norfolk exhibition.
Costumes
At the heart of the exhibition are costumes from the Norfolk Museum’s Service Costume and Textiles Collections. Getting the mannequins dressed was a long and careful process – every detail counts!
You may wonder why Man Yee is not wearing gloves. Although conservators wear gloves when handling most objects, when dealing textiles it’s best to handle them with bare, clean hands. Wearing gloves prevents us from feeling the texture of the fabric and may lead to snagging.
The Banners
Apart from costumes, the exhibition also features banners. The illustrations on the National Union of General and Municipal Workers banner reflect a sense of optimism for the future. Measuring 2.8 by 3.3 meters this banner rarely gets exhibited.
Putting up banners can be quite tricky. Here is our team putting up the banner created and presented to Norwich Cathedral in celebration of the work done by the British Red Cross and the Order of St John of Jerusalem during the War.
The Torpedo
The exhibition features the tail of a German Torpedo, type G/6 or G/6D, introduced into the Imperial German Navy in 1911. We borrowed it from the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum in Flixton. Originally it probably came from the submarine UB28. The submarine was interned at Great Yarmouth at the end of the War. The original torpedo was about 6 meters long and weighed 2,491 lbs!
Unfortunately, the weight restrictions on the bridge leading to Norwich Castle prevented us from displaying the whole torpedo. It was just too heavy!
Picture Norfolk Posters
The back of the first gallery is illuminated with light boxes featuring war time recruiting and fundraising posters, kindly lent to us by Picture Norfolk. You can explore more Picture Norfolk’s extensive collection of photographs at: picture.norfolk.gov.uk.
Paddy Hartley’s Papaver Rhoeas Poppies
The Poppies are intended equally as a memorial and a critique of aspects of Remembrance culture, the poppies are designed to decay, fragment and collapse throughout the course of the exhibit.
Produced in collaboration with a team of scientists at King’s College London, the work addresses contemporary notions of remembrance and the cultural phenomena of memorialisation. While individual artworks have been exhibited in sites around central London, this is the first time that all 16 pieces will be shown together, and the first time the work has been presented in the East of England.
We hope you enjoyed the sneak peek at the exhibition preparations.
See you there soon!
Armistice: Legacy of the Great War in Norfolk 