National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, August 13, 2007

For many years the Richard Ansdell painting The Hunted Slaves was a familiar sight above the grand staircase of the Walker Art Gallery. However, sharp eyed visitors will have noticed that the painting is no longer there.

Although it hasn't been on public display, the painting has still been the centre of attention behind the scenes at the National Conservation Centre, where our conservators have examined it and prepared it to go to a new venue.

This morning the painting was taken to the Albert Dock, where it will soon be going on display again in the new International Slavery Museum. As you can see, moving such a huge painting is a big operation as it takes several people just to lift it. It was in safe hands with the museum's specialist handling team though, who soon got it inside.

Emily and Predrag in front of Menagerie

On Saturday I attended a talk at the Walker by artist Emily Stainer and curator of the Bound exhibition, Predrag Pajdic. Predrag asked Emily questions in front of an audience about her installation Menagerie, which went on display to the public at the Walker on Friday.

I had worked with Emily throughout the installation and knew a lot about the practical side to the installation; how it is set up and how the pieces are assembled. However it was the first time I’d heard Emily talk about the inspirations and concept behind the artwork, which was really interesting.

Menagerie was influenced by Emily’s interest in the cabinets of curiosities of the 17th Century; these ‘cabinets’ were small rooms filled by the wealthy with unusual natural history objects, works of art and religious and historical remnants. Menagerie similarly displays curious items, including found and composed objects which present contradictory ideas of the playful and sinister. Emily explained that in the past she’s found it really interesting how reactions to Menagerie have differed. Some visitors, usually children, are lured in by the bright lights and strange objects and find the moving doll body parts fun and amusing. However in contrast, most adults do pick up on the sinister connotations of the moving doll parts and the ideas of confinement.

The discussion was a great insight into Emily’s thoughts and ideas about her work. She will be at the Walker again on 10 October at 1pm to talk about her work and I’d highly recommend going along to it.

The installation also links well to the wonderful exhibition 'WunderKammer' curated by Oliver Braid at the Bluecoat Display Centre on Hanover Street, which is also inspired by 17th-Century cabinets of curiosities.

Four fab photos of the fab four (try saying that quickly) waiting to be hung on the wall. All photographs in the exhibition © University of Dundee.

Lucy Johnson has been keeping us posted about the installation of 'Menagerie' at the Walker. She's not the only exhibition officer who has been busy lately though. Linda Brizell has sent over this sneaky peek of the next exhibition to open at the National Conservation Centre this Saturday, which she reckons fans of a certain band will love:

"Last week I was on gallery for the installation of Now These Days are Gone, an exhibition consisting of over 40 fantastic photographs taken by Michael Peto during the filming of Help! The photographs range from filming on a very cold Salisbury Plain, having tea at the Antrobus Arms to at home with Ringo, Maureen and their pet dog, Tiger. The exhibition will be of great interest to any Beatles fan as it gives a glimpse of the famous four off-guard and relaxed.

This will be the first time the photographs have been shown in the North West, they have previously been on shown in London, Dundee and Ireland.

Now These Days are Gone opens on Saturday 18 August and runs until Sunday 2 March 2008."

I, Stephen Guy, have many family stories about the Mersey ferries – including one memorable day when the gangplank landed on my toe, happily without breaking anything.

As Liverpool grew, so did the ferries until they reached their zenith in the 19th century. These days the ferry only links Liverpool with Birkenhead and Seacombe. Until the 1970s there was one to New Brighton. However, in my parents’ and grandparents’ times there were also ferries to Egremont, Tranmere, Rock Ferry, New Ferry and Eastham. My maternal grandmother, Lillian Potter, described an horrific incident she witnessed around the time of the First World War on Eastham ferry. She had a friend at Eastham village and would enjoy a day out taking the ferry then walking to see her pal. After one such visit, Gran was boarding the return ferry with other passengers. They were regaled by a drunk perched on the paddle wheel cover, bottle in hand, laughing and joking. As the ferry lurched from its moorings, the drunk toppled over the side and was killed by the churning paddle wheels. The ferry searched unsuccessfully for any trace of his body.

The circular chain ferry. Image copyright Liverpool Daily Post & Echo

My father George remembered going on Eastham ferry to visit a large pleasure garden in the woods. It was reached through an ornate gateway and attracted large crowds. You can still see parts of the old ferry landing stage and ticket office at Eastham, which remains a very pleasant spot with marvellous views over the river.

Ferries have criss-crossed the River Mersey since at least 1150 when the monks of Birkenhead Priory used to row passengers across the windswept, desolate estuary.

At Merseyside Maritime Museum there is a model of the paddle steamer Elizabeth – both the first steam ferryboat on the Mersey and the first steamship on the river. She entered the river on 28 June 1815 and inaugurated a service between Liverpool and Runcorn making one trip daily at a speed of between nine and 10 knots.

There is a builder’s half-model of Royal Daffodil II which, unusually, is marked with dimensions for her outer hull for plating purposes. She was later renamed St Hilary and sold for scrap in 1962.

Perhaps the most interesting exhibit is a model of a prototype circular chain ferry (shown here) that never saw the light of day. Dating from about 1865, the two-funnelled vessel would have sported covered passenger saloons and a central area for carriages and wagons in those pre-tunnel days.  This idea was rejected mainly because the huge chains needed to haul the ferry across the river would have been a danger to other ships.

There is an information sheet with a brief history of the Mersey Ferries available on our main site.

A new Maritime Tale appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

Roy Irlam, Frames Conservator and Steve Casey clean the glass of the newly installed painting

As part of the Museum of Liverpool on the Road project the painting, 'Unemployment on Merseyside - Campaigning for the Right to Work' by Mike Jones has recently gone on loan to the People's Centre, Mount Pleasant.

The impressive painting, previously on display at the Museum of Liverpool Life depicts the effects of unemployment and the ways in which Liverpool people have actively campaigned for the right to work. The painting will be on display until 2009.

There is a buzz of excitement here at National Museums Liverpool as the momentum builds towards the opening of the International Slavery Museum. You may have heard already, that the Freedom Schooner Amistad, that set sail from Haven, Connecticut, USA on 21st June,  arrived on UK shores yesterday and will be docking in Liverpool on Sunday 19th August, in time for the opening of the International Slavery Museum. Amistad is a replica of the original ship that was commandeered by African captives in 1839, which is why the arrival in Liverpool has been planned to coincide with UNESCO Slavery Remembrance Day and the opening of the new museum. 

Exhibitions officer Lucy Johnson is a handy person to know if you want the news on what's coming up at the art galleries. Here's an update she sent me on the latest exhibition that she's been working on:

"Emily Stainer, a South African artist, has been installing her artwork 'Menagerie' in room 14 at the Walker this week. This intriguing installation is part of the BOUND exhibition. BOUND is a contemporary art project led by curator Predrag Pajdic, which explores human enslavement from a historical perspective through to the modern day.

Emily installing the works at the Walker with assistance from her father, David

'Menagerie' is made up from many unusual items, including Victorian style birdcages with mechanical limbs and mounted owls trapped inside them. The sound of the old fashioned clockwork mechanics, the curious Victorian objects and the dim lighting create an uncanny display.

The Walker is the first gallery outside of South Africa to show 'Menagerie'. Each time it is shown, the set up of the objects differ depending on the space in which they are situated.

The BOUND exhibition is being shown across other venues in Liverpool, including FACT, Tate Liverpool and Open Eye Gallery. It opens this Friday (10 August) and runs until 20 October 2007. The exhibition is then moving to London.

Emily will be giving a talk about her installation this Saturday at 1pm at the Walker and again on 11 October."

Looking for inspiration for writing or for creating your own artwork can sometimes be hard in a busy city, so I tried going out to see the exhibitions at Sudley House, to see if this would help. Having not been at National Museums Liverpool for long, I had never been, even though it is tucked away in leafy Mossley Hill, not far from my house. After getting a brief video 'talk' off a George Holt look-a-like, I started to take in the vast personal collection of work belonging to the man himself. In the Garden Hall, I found what turned out to be my favourite painting in the gallery; Circe and Scylla, by John Melhuish Strudwick.

The painting tells the story of two characters, Circe and Scylla, from the Greek myth as retold by the Roman author Ovid. It is a tale of jealousy and revenge, as the enchantress Circe poisons the water that Scylla is about to bathe in - because Scylla has captured the affections of the man Circe wants. I don't have a degree in fine art or anything like that, but I like the painting because of the mysterious and foreboding feeling it evokes, with the dark and mist and also because of the amazing detail that you can only see if you get up really close. Luckily at Sudley House, you are able to do this!

On the bottom right hand corner you can see the poison dropping into the river, with tiny bubbles and splashes as it hits the surface - I nearly missed the evil looking bat, lurking in the darkness nearby. I think you can tell that Circe is intent on bad things, not only by her expression, but also by the way her hand is clenched at her dress. I think details like these are really great in a painting.

I like to look at paintings before reading about them, to decide what I think the painting is about - my guess was something representing heaven and hell, you can probably see why I thought that. The other thing I like is that Scylla reminds me of Boticelli's Venus as well, with those robes and flowing hair.

It definitely inspired me to look up the myth, to see what happens next - Scylla is supposed to turn into a sea monster! I'd recommend going to have a look as you can't really appreciate it from a photograph and it is really good being able to go to a gallery and see such interesting paintings up close.

In the early 1960s the boom of the One O’clock Gun was the signal for father and I, Stephen Guy, to head for a Kardomah café or Cooper’s Corner for lunch. Many other people, both on ship and shore, must have been spurred to do likewise.

The One O'Clock Cannon outside the Maritime. Image courtesy Liverpool Daily Post & Echo

A huge cannon standing on the quayside at Merseyside Maritime Museum was the first One O’Clock Gun - part of a tradition which lasted more than a century in the Port of Liverpool. For generations its familiar boom alerted people to the correct time - it could be heard for miles. The One O’Clock Gun was fired every day from the river wall at Morpeth Dock, Birkenhead, to give ships a time check. The 32-pounder at the museum was the first (in 1867) of a series of guns.

Ships would set their chronometers by the gun and, despite the introduction of radio time signals, this service continued until 1969. Timekeeping has always been an essential part of safe navigation. In mid-ocean, long before sighting land, the mariner must know the positions of both the ship and destination so that the ship’s course may be calculated. In 1845, an observatory was established at Waterloo Dock to give time checks for setting chronometers by which ships were navigated.

Liverpool had many instrument makers and navigation equipment suppliers, some of whom devised their own improvements to existing instruments. One such instrument in the museum’s collections is Croskerry’s Patent Position Finder. Devised by Captain Croskerry of Rock Ferry, this is a variation of a piece of equipment called a station pointer. If the horizontal angles between three landmarks are measured with a sextant and the arms of the Position Finder set to those angles, the ship’s position will be at the intersection of the arms.

Also in the collections is a sextant by JW Ray & Co of Liverpool presented by the White Star Line to Cadet Barradale of HMS Conway in 1910.  A fine chronometer was made by Richard Hornby of Liverpool. These accurate clocks are designed to be little-affected by temperature changes. They are mounted on gimbals to isolate them from the rolling of the ship. Using both a chronometer and sextant to observe the sun enabled seafarers to discover their exact position. Radio time signals and accurate quartz clocks have superseded chronometers for keeping time at sea.

A new Maritime Tale appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

Anyone in the area this afternoon will have noticed that the usually tranquil William Brown Street was a riot of noise and colour. Our roving reporter Laura Johnson couldn't resist going to see what all the fuss was about:

Surf's up outside the Walker

So a sandy beach arrived outside the Walker Art Gallery, dancers and musicians performed on the steps to the old entrance of World Museum Liverpool and William Brown Street was invaded with stilt walkers, jugglers, face painters and role players."

Benin artist Romauld Hazoume was at the Maritime Museum today to oversee the installation of his artwork La Bouche du Roi, which goes on show from Saturday as part of the museum's year long programme of events commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.

The picture above shows him with some of the 304 masks that make up the main body of the artwork. Each mask, made from a petrol can, represents a real person and they are arranged on the floor packed closely together to show the cramped conditions on board the ships that took enslaved Africans across the Atlantic as part of the slave trade. With film footage, the sounds the the slaves' voices calling out and evocative smells of the tobacco and spices transported as part of the trade, this is an incredibly powerful and moving immersive experience.

Freshly dug King Edward potatoes from the Piermaster's House wartime garden

Over the last few months I've been keeping an eye on the garden at the Piermaster's House, where green fingered attendant Brian Jones grows an incredible range of vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, as an example of the types of things people might have grown in their own gardens during the war.

When I first visited the garden in May the crops were barely out of the ground, then in June the runner beans had grown about halfway up their poles. It was incredible to see the difference this morning - the runner beans are now taller than Brian! The recent wet weather has really done the garden good, at least there were some benefits to all that rain last month.

Brian's already planning to cook up some of his produce for a meal with his colleagues at the Maritime Museum. There have been glowing reports from people who have tried some of the peas and runner beans already. It's all organically grown, which Brian feels adds to the great taste. He says the salty air at the docks keeps the slugs away naturally, which is a benefit of the exposed city centre site. People are always surprised by the quantity and the huge variety of things that he grows in the tiny garden in such an unusual location. He hopes that he has inspired some visitors to see what they can grow themselves at home.

There are more photos in a Flickr slideshow of the wartime garden that show how it has developed since May, as well as some of the strawberries, peas and other things Brian has grown there.