The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures

Prior to the reopening of York Art Gallery in 2015, Mark Hearld spent two years visiting the stores of the Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum as well as the Gallery researching the objects and artworks to include in his curated exhibition, The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures, which engaged visitors from August 2015 until May 2017.

His choices included pottery, costume, oil paintings, works on paper, furniture, and taxidermy, many items of which had not been on public display before.

Alongside these were new works that Mark has created especially for the show which is inspired by the collections. 

The exhibition is influenced by a short story called ‘The Lumber Room’, by Saki, which was read to him in an English class when he was 15.

Mark explains…

“Since I heard Saki’s story I have always been intrigued by the idea of a locked room that contained treasures so wonderful they are beyond what your mind can imagine. In this exhibition, I wanted to create the sense of excitement and wonder that you get when you discover the key to the room and see the “forbidden” objects for the first time.”

The exhibition closed early May 2017, but we’re delighted to publish this Random Spectacular journal which records and celebrates the spirit of Mark’s curation and creation with contributions from Emily Sutton, Chloë Cheese, Alan Powers, Jonathan Gibbs, Angie Lewin, John Andrews and many more. 

Content: 120 text pages plus covers
Size: 240mm x 350mm