Manod: The Nation’s Treasure Caves

Interesting little display at the National Gallery looking at the Manod Quarry cave system where the National Gallery’s pictures were stored in the Second World War.

There were good archive photos showing what the caves were like at the time. Brick stores rooms were built to house the pictures and a road under a bridge had to be lowered to get the large pictures in which were stored in large triangular crates called elephant cases. Assistant keeper, Martin Davis, took the opportunity to finish his catalogue research when the works were there as they were easily accessible to look at in detail.

These photos joined by more pictures of how the space looks now by Robin Friend. The space is abandoned and the earth is gradually reclaiming it. I loved the large format of these which gave them a very grand feeling like a sublime landscape. You can see the old brick structures and the remains of an elephant case.

There was also a mesmerising video of a dance performance in the gallery and the caves called “Winged Bull in an Elephant Case” with choreography by Wayne McGregor. This was hard to watch in full in the gallery as it was half an hour long and there was nowhere to stand where you weren’t in other people’s way. However it has been shown recently on TV and I’m looking forward to watching it on catch up from the comfort of my own sofa.

Closes on 8 April 2018

 

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