The Director's Cut
From Tuesday 1 November 2022
"When I became Director of the Museum, one of my priorities was to revamp our storeroom so as to make its contents more accessible. I had wrongly assumed that most of its casts were duplicates. Not only was this not the case, but hidden from view were some real gems that augment the story that we are normally able to tell about Greek and Roman sculpture."
Prof Caroline Vout, Director
Many museums have more objects in their collection than they can put on public display. In this new temporary exhibition, MOCA Director Prof Caroline Vout rescues several casts of classical sculpture from the museum's stores which have not been seen in decades. Their labels introduce visitors to new objects and invite them to see familiar casts in a new light.
Rather than simply add these sculptures to the Museum’s story of change over time, Prof Vout has treated them more like modern art installations so that they intervene, sometimes surprisingly, in the gallery’s chronology. Cleaned and exhibited on purple bases, nine of these sculptures have been displayed to break up the chronology of the museum's permanent displays.
