‘Constucting a narrative’ – an account of collected artefacts, the written word, existing and fictional histories

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is a collection of hedonistic and subversive poems, or quatrains, said to number over a thousand, attributed to the Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048-1131).

For this display, artists Gary James Williams and Jo Manby take a selection of objects from Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections and place them alongside quatrains from The Rubáiyát (the Edward FitzGerald translation, one of many editions of The Rubáiyát owned by Special Collections) to create a new artwork, ‘Constructing a narrative’ – an account of collected artefacts, the written word, existing and fictional histories.

The archive at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections, as a repository encompassing aesthetic, cultural, archaeological, scientific and art historical resources and knowledge, is the ideal place for us as artists to create a new art work. ‘Constructing a narrative‘ is a temporary micro-archive within the creative institution that is Manchester Metropolitan University, which opens a dialogue about the act of curation as an artwork.

From the mass of artefacts that surround us on a day to day basis, the objects on show (including selected items such as ancient Middle Eastern decorative metalwork to early 20^th century European ceramic) are temporarily removed from the flow and placed in a specific, new context and now have a narrative thread connecting them.

Associating the objects with extracts from another, text-based item gives them a new set of connections. They have been taken out of storage and placed in a live circuit that now has a storyline. This changes the way we think about these objects. Objects have a multitude of possible ‘other lives’, just as we as people do. Set them in another context, and they will mean a whole range of different things to different viewers.

Here, objects can be seen as metaphors for concepts and ideas in The Rubáiyát. Or a certain quality in the object might epitomise an atmosphere that is hinted at in the poem. This brings about new ways of looking at objects and archives.

‘Constructing a narrative‘, as an artistic intervention into Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections, invites the viewer to consider the distinction between curating and creation of an artwork. Here the distinction is blurred. Questions are raised concerning the value of imagined histories. Is a fictional recontextualisation of historic artefacts justified? What benefit does it have to offer? What is the role of the artist-curator in expanding the horizons of creative possibility?

Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Spotlight Foyer DisplayGround floor Foyer, All Saints Library, All Saints, Manchester M15 6BH

10 May – 22 June 2018, Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10.00 – 16.00, Saturday 12.00 – 16.00

©️ Gary James Williams