About

The exhibition Bummock:The Lace Archive is the result of a residency that researched unseen parts of the Lace Archive as catalysts for the creation of new artworks. Three artists, Andrew Bracey, Danica Maier and Lucy Renton have spent the last two and half years rummaging, exploring and making. The artworks created will be shown alongside the archival material that was used as the starting point for the artists’ research.

Nottingham was the heart of the lace industry during the heyday of the British Empire and Backlit Gallery is located in the former home to Samuel Morley’s textile factory. The Lace Archive housed at Nottingham Trent University, holds 75,000 items of lace, which have been acquired from bequests by local companies and the Nottingham Lace Federation. This collection is considered to be of local, national and international importance. Its growth, and continued use, gives a unique opportunity to scrutinise technical proficiency and innovation within a specific commodity sector, in the context of the history of design education and teaching practice.

This exhibition forms part of a larger project Bummock: New Artistic Responses to Unseen parts of the Archive. The Bummock is the large part of an iceberg hidden beneath the surface of the sea.The aim is to create artistic responses to unseen or undervalued parts of archives to generate new readings, knowledge and artworks. Many stored items and documents are collected but remain unseen or uncatalogued; often only the important elements of archives and collections are made public.

Exhibition open Sat 27 – Sun 18 February. Open Fri, Sat, Sun noon – 5pm.

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