Unexpected Encounters: Madge Gill at The Wallace Collection

While working on the development of interpretation for Newham’s historic Old Library, we encountered the extraordinary work of Madge Gill - one of the remarkable artists represented within the borough’s collection.

On discovering that Gill’s work was included in Delusions of Grandeur at The Wallace Collection, a visit naturally followed. Curated by Grayson Perry, the exhibition presents a fantastical narrative centred on the imagined figure of Shirley Smith, the fictional rightful heir to Hertford House. Through ceramics, textiles and installation, Perry constructs an elaborate and mischievous alternative history within the museum’s historic interiors.

It was great to see Gill’s original drawings on display. Their intricacy and intensity are extraordinary - dense, rhythmic, almost trance-like in their detail.