Arts

08 May 09

Kevin Whatley holding the Bocardo Prison Key, Colin Dexter holding the Manacle and Lawrence Fox with Cranmer’s Band. © Theo Chalmers

From acclaimed actors, authors and artists, to Oxfordshire residents, an outdoor photographic exhibition outside the Ashmolean celebrates the personal connections that people have with the Ashmolean, in the lead up to the opening of the new Museum building in November 2009. 

My Ashmolean My Museum is a collection of over thirty portraits taken by fine art photographer, Theo Chalmers.  The series has been produced in collaboration with high profile individuals and members of the local community. It will run in the Museum forecourt from 12 May until 4 October.

Sir Ben Kingsley, Shami Chakrabarti and Maggi Hambling, are among the individuals who sat for a portrait with the Museum’s treasures.

Chalmers combines a surrealist overtone with a sleek advertising finish to tell a range of stories of each model and the history of each object. The portraits feature written quotations, articulating the sitter’s connection to the work of art or providing more information about the object. 

“West meets East” reads the quote on Sir Ben Kingsley’s forehead.  He has played characters from both West and East in his distinguished career, most famously in the role of Gandhi.  He is pictured holding a loaf of bread and a bowl of rice, signifying the cultural differences of the continents and the links between them, a theme the Museum’s new display strategy will illustrate.  In the background is a statue of a standing Buddha from Gandhara (northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan).  In the early centuries AD, this region had become a strong centre both for Buddhism and for Western artistic influence.   

There is a ‘double portrait’ of the artist Maggi Hambling. She is photographed with the portrait she painted of Francis Bacon, now in the Ashmolean’s collections. In this striking artistic moment, Chalmers has captured two of the country’s greatest figurative painters “One pair of eyes meets another”.

From the world of law and human rights, Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty and Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, stands in front of The Reign of Justice, a lithograph by EJ Sullivan. Shami poses as Lady Justice, holding chains for oppression and a butterfly for freedom. She took her quotation from the maxim above the Old Bailey “Defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer”.

Moreover, the series has captured the simpler joys, which the Museum provides.  7 year-old Oxfordshire resident, Freya Darius-Nobes enjoys studying the Romans.  Her visit to the Ashmolean opened up a new world of discovery.  Among the collection of classical sculpture she found the bust of a satyr with a child’s face, pointy ears and a mischievous smile.  Capturing her imagination, it made her curious to learn more about the Roman world at school.

“This is such an exciting time at the Ashmolean. I am really pleased to have been asked to get involved. I am lucky enough to live close by to what is a truly world-class museum, looking after treasures from across the globe. My photograph illustrates West meets East – one of the themes of the new galleries and a story very close to my own heart. I can’t wait to see it on display.” Sir Ben Kingsley.

“We are extremely grateful to the individuals who have generously given their time and support to this campaign and to the Ashmolean – a commitment to which I am certain the new Museum will do justice.  I look forward to opening the doors in November, to what I truly hope you will agree is your Ashmolean.”  Dr Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean.