SUNLIGHT: Roger Ackling
Norwich Castle Museum
18 May – 22 September
SUNLIGHT is the first major survey of British artist Roger Ackling (1947-2014) and the most significant exhibition of his work to date.
For 50 years, Ackling consistently made objects by burning wood - focussing sunlight through the lens of a hand-held magnifying glass to scorch repeated patterns of lines on the surface.
Like his contemporaries Richard Long and Hamish Fulton, Ackling challenged the traditional methods of making sculpture by taking his art out of the studio and into the landscape environment.
Ackling is best known for his work on found driftwood. SUNLIGHT expands this reputation to include lesser-known works, which use domestic wooden objects and tools and incorporate readymade elements such as elastic bands and mapping pins. The exhibition will also feature works on card and paper that have not been exhibited in the UK.
Ackling’s sculptures “occupy a unique place in contemporary art practice – understood in relationship to Land Art, Minimalist and Conceptual Art practices and yet not defined by any one of these movements” (Dr Rosy Gray, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery)
The exhibition will introduce Ackling’s work to a new generation of audiences, prompting important conversations about the status of the object, the significance of material, the processes of making and the transformative power of display.
SUNLIGHT will tour to Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, and the Pier Arts Centre, Orkney in 2025.
SUNLIGHT is developed in partnership with the Artist’s Estate, Annely Juda Fine Art, the Henry Moore Institute and the Pier Arts Centre.
The exhibition is supported by Norfolk Museums Service, Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council, East Anglia Art Fund, Henry Moore Foundation, Norwich University of the Arts and Art Fund.
