Deconstructing the West Yorkshire Hoard, July 2019 PhD research exhibition

Co-insiding with the International Medival Congress 2019 – Studio G.09 | University of Leeds, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies

The exhibition comprised of two pieces made in response to The West Yorkshire Hoard; Overlie (film and drawings) and Golder than Gold. In presenting my own responses to the West Yorkshire Hoard, conceptualising my approach as ‘the artist’s edit’ this exhibition looked to unpick aspects of value, reuse and flux; exploring the questions raised when the material nature of these objects is queried. To offer new ways to think about the interpretation and display of hoards, in the broader context of contemporary art responses to heritage.

Golder than gold (The West Yorkshire Hoard) Collage – April 2019  Size: 19cm(w) x 19.5cm(l)  x 12 – framed in pairs – 6 

No. 1- = 86% gold, 8% silver, 6% copper          No. 1+ = 90% gold, 6% silver, 3% copper Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

No. 2- = 77% gold, 17% silver, and 6% copper     No. 2+ =81% gold, 15% silver, 4% copper  Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

No. 3- = 85% gold, 11% silver, 4% copper            No. 3+ = 89% gold, 9% silver, 2% copper  Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

No. 4- = 75% gold, 22% silver, 4% copper            No. 4+ =79% gold, 19% silver, 2% copper  Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

No. 5- = 88% gold, 6% silver, 6% copper              No. 5+ = 92% gold, 4% silver, 3% copper Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

No. 6- = 89% gold, 7% silver, 4% copper              No. 6+= 91% gold, 5% silver, 4% copper  Primary material: Gold Completeness: Complete 

All material percentage and breakdown information are taken from the Portables Antiques Scheme’s scientific analysis of The West Yorkshire Hoard – https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/391699 & https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/459594

Golder than gold, is a 6 pair collage piece which focuses on the gold purity aspect of the 6 gold objects within this hoard.  Using the Portable Antiquity Schemes’ material breakdown of each object, the gold quality is determined by how much gold, silver and copper is present as per its scientific material analysis. Each pair shows the most and the least amount of gold, alongside the silver and copper percentage that also makes up each gold object.  Challenging our concept of something that is termed and looks so wholly gold.  The collage bases are photographs of fool’s gold with gold, silver and copper card representing each percentage of their scientific analysis breakdown. 

Overlie – the drawings (The West Yorkshire Hoard)
Paper, ink – black and gold, pencil – May 2019
Size: 19cm(w) x 19.5cm(l)
Treatment: Arrayed
Each drawing was produced to show a visual breakdown of the visual components that make up the 6 gold and 1 lead object in this hoard. The outline and detail drawings are made using black Indian ink. The material gold drawings are made using gold ink, each with 6 layers of ink; to denote their fellow hoard gold objects. The material lead drawing is made with graphite pencil. Graphite being the material referred to as lead; its much safer and less poisonous mark making counterpart.
These drawings are based on the photographs taken by Leeds Council – © Leeds Museums and Galleries – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/the-west-yorkshire-hoard-medieval-treasure/resources

Overlie (The West Yorkshire Hoard) Film piece – June 2019
Treatment: Disarray
Outline, Material, Detail – Overlie, questions the different parts of the 6 gold and 1 lead object/s that make up this hoard; by viewing these parts separately, can the perceived value of these objects change? Does the viewer have a preference to just part of the object? The order and positioning of the objects denotes the random order in which the objects were found; the chance finding, and sequencing of these hoarded objects is completely detached to the value or differing age of these objects.
This film is made from drawings based on the photographs taken by Leeds Council – © Leeds Museums and Galleries – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/the-west-yorkshire-hoard-medieval-treasure/resources