Upton House and Gardens

Project:

Artist in Residence

Location:

Upton House & Gardens

Michelle Stevenson is a practising artist, who studied Fine Art as a mature student at the Ruskin School in Oxford and undertook postgraduate art research at the Royal College of Art. She lives locally and recently joined the team at Upton.

Her work has often focused on the collections and the stories objects can tell, including items from the amazing collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.  She is especially drawn to working with objects which have been lost, broken or damaged in use, or perhaps discarded because they are no longer functional or beautiful.

'Through the traces of use on their surfaces, their marks, dents and imperfections, these objects reveal stories of  past contact with the people they were connected with, and allow us a glimpse of other lives and times. Working with the objects at Upton House has been really fascinating - why do we choose to collect and conserve some objects rather than others?

'What makes a dusty, damaged remnant seem so precious to some when to others they have no value? I've really enjoyed re-discovering that child-like curiosity which impels us to rummage through dusty boxes and papers, just to see what secrets they contain. It has been great fun having the attic space in the raw to play with, feeling somehow quite remote from the very carefully orchestrated house below.'

Michelle has helped us to tell Upton's stories in the attic and keep the   atmosphere of this special space. We hope that you'll enjoy discovering this space and finding your own stories among the cobwebs.