It’s nice to have a face

Faye Claridge blogs about her artist's residency for Shifting Worlds at Ironbridge Gorge Museum with Meadow Arts

"I was reminded earlier about a conversation I had a few weeks ago about how our Abraham Darbys aren’t the only notables without portraits. Visiting the Canaletto exhibition at Compton Verney before it closed, I was lucky enough to have a behind-the-scenes talk with its curator Stephen Parisienne, who pointed out the self-portrait of Canaletto in the show may not be Canaletto at all. “Still,” he said cheerfully. “It’s good to have a face to start the exhibition with.”

Supposed Self-Portrait of Canaletto © National Trust

Indeed it is and this is the point; we want to see people not just hear about them or see evidence of their work. The face is usually the most important piece of evidence we desire when learning – or making judgments – about a person.

Years of arguments over the reliability of historic portraits aren’t just an academic or financial exercise (although we know a portrait of Shakespeare will be a lot more valuable for sale or visitor-attracting if proved authentic). The issue is more fundamentally about how we relate to other human beings and how we gather ‘evidence’ in making decisions. This is why interrupting the view of a face, introducing a mask, a burka or even face paint, has such an impact.

I’m really looking forward to exploring this more through the handful of silhouette portraits of Darby extended family members on display at Rosehill House (next door to Dale House). Using a combination of backlighting, black face paint and disguise tatter coats, visitors will be able to see me obscure, photograph and further obscure some key people in Coalbrookdale’s current and past stories. I’m open to suggestions on who should be photographed, just see me at Dale House, leave me a note or get in touch via twitter @fayeclaridge.

Faye Claridge by Chris Keenan

Faye Claridge: Industry and the Artist residency, Ironbridge Gorge Museums, June-December 2015

Twitter @fayeclaridge or email info@fayeclaridge.co.uk and on Pinterest

Shifting Worlds: contemporary art and the Birthplace of Industry is a contemporary art programme produced in a partnership between Meadow Arts and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, funded by Arts Council England.

All exhibited work and events take place at Coalbrookdale, the site of three of the ten exciting and varied museums that make up the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. The museums give a fascinating insight into the people, processes and landscape of the Industrial Revolution and its impact on the present day.

www.meadowarts.org

www.ironbridge.org.uk