Rye Creative Centre staged a Duplicata Symposium on June 30. Its theme was the meaning of originality in a work of art, with its inherent or perceived quality and value in comparison to that of a reproduction, copy or forgery. Guest speakers included Nina Rodin, director of the Trelex residency in Geneva, and Vernon Rapley, Director of Security at the V&A and former head of the Art and Antiques Unit at New Scotland Yard.
Chris Cleere, an antiques restorer and archaeological conservationist, who lives in Rye, spoke about the conflicting motivation behind many restoration projects ; Sarah Pickering told of a notorious art forger ; and Sarah Knill-Jones talked about ‘a case of mistaken identity’ involving the reproduction of a piece from the National Gallery in London.
Between 50 and 60 people attended the symposium free of charge, the third of its kind held at the Rye Creative Centre. It was organised by Sarah Money, in collaboration with Nina Rodin. Artist Jenny Edbrooke explained: “We started holding symposium events three years ago with the object of reaching out to a wider audience, trying to get different perspectives which might complement the outlook of our resident artists on contemporary themes”.
The Rodin exhibition in the main gallery, explores the many forms of duplicity, using multi-media images inspired by copies, fakes and archive material, contrasting reproducibility in art versus science. The exhibition of Rodin’s work is currently running at the Centre in the old school building in New Road until Friday July 17, and is open 10am-3pm Monday to Friday.
photo: Kenneth Bird