Art meets archaeology in new exhibition

The monuments and landscape of Wiltshire are the exhibition's focus

An artist and archaeologist has opened a new exhibition, inspired by a county's history and landscape.

Dr Rose Ferraby's Downland: Art & the Archaeological Imagination, aims to explore how Wiltshire's chalk downs, monuments and history have inspired creativity there.

The exhibition at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes consists of screenprints, paintings and relief prints, alongside books, lithographs, prints, paintings, drawings and maps drawn from the museum's own collection.

"For archaeologists, Wiltshire is very important," said Dr Ferraby. "It's a county whose sites inspired the thinking that helped create archaeology as a discipline."

Dr Ferraby was inspired by the county's ancient monuments, including Stonehenge

"[Wiltshire] is full of stories, not just of the deep past, but also of the archaeologists who have gone before us," said Dr Ferraby.

The exhibition features works by well-known artists, including Henry Moore, Paul Nash, Norman Ackroyd (to whom it is dedicated), Julian Trevelyan, Eric Ravilious, John Piper, and Thomas Guest.

"There's something about the way these artists approach the archaeology of Wiltshire that captures material heft and the wonder we feel for them; a spirit of place that continues to draw us to this landscape and its monuments," said Dr Ferraby.

Uffington by Rose Ferraby, painted collage

Desire Lines by Rose Ferraby, painted collage

Dr Ferraby hopes that visitors will want to go away from the exhibition wanting to explore the sites that feature in its artworks.

"There is so much archaeology to enjoy and explore in Wiltshire, and it's more important than ever that we understand and care for our archaeology and landscapes," she said.

"In a way, printmaking is like archaeology in reverse. Where in an excavation I'm peeling layers away, in a print I'm laying them back down onto the paper. Each tells a story of time, each relies on our ability to understand colour, texture and meaning in the earth."