Behind, over and under the scenes.....
Welcome to the first of our First World War diorama conservation blog posts! Throughout the redevelopment of the FWW galleries we hope to give you an insight into what goes on not just behind, but also over and under the scenes!
This is the first time such extensive conservation has been performed on the FWW dioramas, which were originally constructed in the 1920s and 30s but relocated and modified to varying degrees several times over the years. Thanks to funding the Memorial has received to mark the centenary of the First World War, we will be able to bring the dioramas to their best possible condition for display.
The core diorama conservation team currently consists of myself (Alana), Jocelyn, Nick and Janet with occasional involvement from other Memorial conservators (thank you Jen, Claire and David!). We look forward to more conservators joining us throughout the course of the project.
Over the past five months, our work has concerned the top surface of Pozieres, Somme Winter, Bullecourt and Ypres – cleaning away the dust and debris, adhering broken and loose pieces of plaster and other components, inpainting lost plaster and repairing or replacing broken or missing components (more about each of these in future posts).
With the closure of the Western Front and Sinai Palestine galleries this month, more extensive conservation work will continue and additional activities over the next 18 months will include the movement of the dioramas into chronological order and re-design of their displays. Like the wider FWW galleries redevelopment project, this part of the project concerning the dioramas, will involve an interdisciplinary team of conservators, workshop and registration staff, curators, exhibition staff and designers.
To start, here are some pics of our set-up behind the hoarding whilst the galleries remained open. Scaffolding (affectionately known as ‘the scaff’) has been installed with a counterweighted platform out over the diorama enabling us to lie in prone position to work on the surface. We remove and shift the timber planks (supported by ladder beams) as necessary – swag mattress and pillow essential!