My work for the Awaken, an exhibition of indigenous artefacts from Pintupi, Cape York and Arnhem Land, took many shapes. First, I prevented dissociation by collating all previously known information about the objects onto a single Filemaker database. I also provided conservation and display advice for each object, taking into account the gallery’s current conditions and the needs of the artwork. I then went hands-on, literally, as I assessed each object’s condition prior to display. My work has not ended with the opening of the exhibition, however. I now do weekly and month checks of the gallery’s relative humidity and temperature readings and watch out for potential insect activity. You can (briefly) see me talking about the project in the video above.
