Artwork on Wallpaper
Owner: University of Lincoln Art Collection
University of Lincoln number: 20/023
Context
This piece was created by Saida Essafiry in 2006 while studying at the University of Lincoln. At the time she was a French exchange student studying fine art. This piece depicts a man on the reverse side of a roll of wallpaper. The subject shown was intended as a personification of what the artist believed to be the British media, covering the Iraq conflict and the depiction of Muslims in society. The man shown is her interpretation of the ‘true’ faces of war. The piece was produced using a roll of everyday wallpaper, a material common to most houses in society. This was to express the idea that the media and political decisions are directly impacting the intimate lives of everybody.
The artwork was then placed back in the frame and sealed. The original title of the work was not present, likely due to disassociation. As a result, a reversible title was created to correctly title the piece as agreed with the artist.
Before Conservation
The artwork had come loose from the spray adhesive used to secure it to the mount board. This had caused the work to curl up and obscure the subject.
Work Undertaken
The work was dismounted with heat and solvents to dissolve the adhesive. Once the reverse was cleaned of residual adhesive the piece was flattened with the use of humidity and pressure. The piece was then remounted in a reversible way with the use of magnets at the bottom to create tension while also being movable. At the top T-hinges were used. These were made with a conservation grade tissue paper to ensure that the hinge would fail before the artwork was damaged in the event of an accident.
Indian Writing tablet
Owner: Fuller Baptist Church
University of Lincoln number: 18/074
Context
This writing tablet dates to the first quarter of the 20th century and is likely from Kolkata. The board is formed from one single plank that has been cut into shape to include a handle. On one side of the board is an inscription in Urdu that translates roughly to, ‘She will see him soon but not yet as she it’s a long way away’. It is suggested that ‘she’ is a young girl and ‘him’ refers to a deity. On the other side of the board reads a Hindi inscription that roughly translates to, ‘there is the king of Kolkata’. Both sides of the board have multiple layers of text with a white wash between them. This evidence suggests that the board was once a writing tablet for children to learn how to write in school. A line of text would have been written by the teacher before the student would copy the line underneath. The white wash is a clay wash that makes the ink easier to clean off the board once full. The owner of the board is a missionary Baptist church and it is likely that this object was brought back from a missionary expedition.
Conservation work
This context influenced the conservation of the board heavily. Pencil inscriptions may once have been seen as graffiti however these were likely part of the board’s use as a learning tool. The oily deposits around the handle are more evidence of use as is the clay wash. For these reasons the conservation work was as simple as reducing the appearance of tide marks caused by water damage and the removal of self-adhesive stickers.
