William Morris: “Ministering to the Swinish Luxury of the Rich” -
AN EXHIBITION BY DAVID MABB

10 April to 23 December 2004

The Whitworth Art Gallery has invited David Mabb, a well established and widely exhibited artist to spend time ‘behind the scenes’, working with the Gallery’s permanent collection of William Morris textiles and wallpapers, to create new work based on the collection which will be displayed in the exhibition alongside a number of original Morris artefacts from the Gallery’s extensive collection. The exhibition offers an exciting way for visitors to view the historic collections and, at the same time, see David’s large scale contemporary works in context.

David Mabb is a visual and installation artist whose work explores that of other artists and creates contemporary work based on it. David’s recent work has been based on the designs of William Morris. He has created a number of works, which are made by overworking Morris textiles with acrylic paint blocking out particular areas and highlighting selected details.

In this exhibition, David has created an ‘environment’ bursting with Morris designs and juxtaposing original historic works, commercially printed wallpapers and his own contemporary work – an installation which blurs the boundaries between a historical museum display and a contemporary art show, between authentic Morris & Co textiles and wallpapers and contemporary mass produced copies of the same, between interior decoration and art.

The Whitworth’s fine art, textiles and wallpaper collections are ‘designated’ by government as an outstanding collection, the work of William Morris and other Arts and Crafts designers is particularly well represented. The Gallery’s collection of wallpapers, printed and woven textiles by Morris & Co are near comprehensive. By recycling familiar images in fresh contexts the exhibition raises questions about authenticity and originality, about the notion of the artist as individual genius and about value in art.

The exhibition Used the collections of William Morris artefacts held by the Whitworth Art Gallery, The National Museum of Labour History, The Working Class Movement Library and Manchester Metropolitan University and was conceived of as a dialogue between contemporary art's use of installation and decoration, and the works of William Morris.
A catalogue William Morris, David Mabb, Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester (ISBN 0-903261537) was published, including the essays ‚The Colonisation of Utopia‚ by Steve Edwards; Four Walls: Morris and Ornament‚ Caroline Arscott.
It received a number of reviews: Pete Clark, 'David Mabb: Ministering to the Swinish Luxury of the Rich', a-n Magazine, August 2004. Gill Saunders, Mining Morris‚ The Wallpaper History Review, 2004-05. Lisa Andrews, William Morris‚ Ministering to the Swinish Luxury of the Rich, Embroidery, November/December 2004. Dave Beech, As it Might Be. The Radical Legacy of William Morris in the Work of David Mabb and Marcus Waith, David Mabb, with essays by Caroline Arscott and Steve Edwards, William Morris, both in the Journal of William Morris Studies, Volume XVI Number I 2005 and Dave Beech, David Mabb, Untitled, Number 33, Spring 2005. Rosie Miles‚ Pop Art, Modernism, and Morris: An Interview with David Mabb, The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies, New series 14:Spring 2005 (ISSN; 1060149X).
The project received an AHRC Small Grant in the Arts and Humanities Award.

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/853