Old Ghosts: Mick Peter’s new take on history
How the Holburne has become home to a refreshing take on its heritage
By Amber Hill (featured image: Eric Parry)
Art and history are all around us, for those that know where to look. For Glasgow-based artist Mick Peter, Bath is a contradiction of rich heritage and stark modernity, much of which devalues these sites that make the city a melting pot of culture and antiquity.
To show his thinking, Mick is visiting the iconic Holburne museum for his ‘Old Ghosts’ exhibition. Known to many as Lady Danbury’s home in the TV series Bridgerton and mentioned in numerous Jane Austin works, the museum is visited by thousands of tourists eager to soak up pieces of Bath’s past.
If you use cartoon…it is something that people are familiar with. It is more friendly” – Mick Peter
Running from January 14th to May 15th, there is plenty of time to see the works. As they walk through, visitors will encounter a whole host of things, such as cartoon-like depictions of archaeological dig sites with all the wrong things in them (such as mashed up pieces of Roman road and coke bottles) and ballrooms designed as film sets. This mixing of the past and the present, especially in terms of the Holburne’s new reputation for being a film set, introduces a new way of thinking about history in general.
The inspiration
For Mick, most of his inspiration derives from the location of the Holburne and its overall look. “That part of Bath is fantastically beautiful, but it’s very uniformly of a period.”
To challenge this, many of Mick’s sculptures are white and modern, giving a stark contrast to an area which is otherwise very conventional.
The importance of history is also at the forefront of Mick’s mind. From its Roman roots and its Georgian atmosphere to its strong literary heritage, there is an abundance of things that Mick has taken into consideration, connecting to Bath’s residents in a new way.
The final product is something to be proud of. For Mick, the Holburne “is a really exciting place to have an exhibition.”
For all those interested, tickets can be purchased here.