The practice of looking after and conserving the historic buildings, furnishings and art collections at Kettle’s Yard helps us to explore the sustainability of the wider environment. As scholars Sarah Brophy and Elizabeth Wylie have written:
“There is little point in preserving collections for posterity if survival of future generations is under threat or cultural heritage is at risk from environmental. catastrophes.” [1]
Conservators who work on the artworks, textiles, pieces of furniture and other objects at Kettle’s Yard intervene to increase the life span of these material objects, and this is a lesson we can bring to our interactions with the world around us in general.
For example, conservation woodworker Matt Bateman highlights how furniture conservation is naturally a sustainable process, as it focuses on repair rather than replacement in all cases. He describes:
Only where deemed absolutely necessary is any new timber used in a repair. Even then, this new timber will likely be salvaged from something previously written-off as waste. Whilst repairing a three-legged stool at Kettle’s Yard, only the wedges used to fix the legs in position were new wood.
Conservators always try to use products and materials in their work that will not harm either the object or its environment, for example in the types of adhesives used for furniture repairs. It is also standard practice that any interventions made should be reversible. Matt Bateman explains:
The traditional scotch glue I use in the furniture repairs can also be considered environmentally sustainable as it is made from the byproducts of other existing industries. This glue is also reversible, making it possible to loosen joints and retain the original woodwork. Further reducing the need to replace.
With reference to a recent repair of the bureau at Kettle’s Yard, which Jim Ede purchased at the age of twelve, Matt re-used screws and fixings saved from elsewhere to replace those that were missing – salvaged from old redundant locks and hinges.
Even the tools he uses are old, having been passed down and reused via generations of craftspeople before he acquired them. He admits, “some chisels are older than the furniture I’m repairing with them!”
Fundamentally, this consciousness of the life of objects, and the careful approach to their preservation for future generations is an attitude that would serve us well in all aspects of our lives. As Brophy and Wylie state, taking action towards environmental sustainability is, “the ultimate in preventative conservation”! [2]
Find out more about Matt Bateman’s work on his website and Instagram.
Footnotes
[1] Sarah Brophy and Elizabeth Wylie, ‘It’s Easy Being Green – Museums and the Green Movement’ Museum News, vol. 85, no. 5, September/ October 2006, pp. 38-45.
[2] Sarah Brophy and Elizabeth Wylie, The Green Museum: A Primer on Environmental Practice (Lanham: AltaMira Press, 2008), p. 5.
Visit the Kettle’s Yard house
The house is the permanent collection at Kettle’s Yard. It was the home of Jim and Helen Ede and displays their collection of 20th century art and objects.
Entry to the house is by timed ticket entry. Tickets can be booked in advance on our website or in person at Kettle’s Yard on a first come, first served basis.
