Eye on the Esplanade: Science and safety in the galleries

By DANIEL MELLER on November 26, 2021.

In 2015, a boy on a school tour in Taipei, Taiwan tripped and punched a fist-sized hole in a $1.5 million painting. The entire incident went viral online, displaying how amazingly quick something so valuable can be damaged. Luckily, he wasn’t forced to empty his piggy bank to pay for the damages.

Every artist I’ve met has a story of damaged artwork. Sometimes it’s intentional, but most often it’s accidental. Each story is a hard lesson for the artist in considering how their artwork is created and displayed, but it’s also an important one for me to learn that whatever can happen might happen, and to try to safeguard against it. As a gallery preparator, my job is to do whatever is reasonable to protect artwork from physical damage. However, there are other factors to worry about, such as environmental damages which are generally damage from light, incorrect humidity, and pests or contaminants.

In Canada, a government body called the Canadian Conservation Institute deals in the science of how to best preserve art and artefacts. They provide insight and information to art galleries and museums all over the country, on appropriate shipping and handling practices, collections storage, exhibition display and restoration. If you’re ever curious about how to keep valuables safe or help in safely shipping an object anywhere, the easiest way to find the website is to google the Canadian Conservation Institute.

At the Esplanade, keeping objects safe is always an utmost concern, though we also have to make sure that the public is also safe while in our exhibits. Sometimes the thing you’re displaying is a hazard to the visiting public and it’s important to make sure, for example, that a bronze sculpture doesn’t fall over and crush anyone, or that a steel sculpture with lots of sharp bits doesn’t stick anyone who accidentally bumps into it. There’s often great consideration beyond just plunking something into a gallery and hoping people will come to see it.

As someone who loves a good challenge, and as a preparator, it’s always fascinating to navigate these obstacles and considerations for a new exhibition. It certainly always keeps me on my toes and keeps the job interesting.

Come down and see the current exhibitions Tues-Sat, 12-5 p.m., Thursdays 12-9 p.m.