Photographers capture V&A’s collection as it moves to east London
Four photographers shot behind the scenes of the V&A’s major collection move into its new site at V&A East Storehouse
Since its opening in 1852, the Victoria and Albert Museum has accumulated many cultural artefacts, from historical fashion garments to rare furniture designs, though most objects are hidden from the public eye. Five years in development, the V&A has now built a 16,000m2 home to ensure the public can marvel at its vast collection through self-guided tours and changing displays.
The east London site, named V&A East Storehouse, has seen 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books, and nearly 1,000 archives transferred from the V&A’s primary collection at Blythe House. It will open to the public in 2025.
Four photographers were invited to shoot behind the scenes to ensure the significance of the extensive collection move, which created opportunities for the museum to develop new and innovative approaches to object storage, was captured. Niall Hodson, Vicky Grout, Shahram Saadat, and Mary Ngwu photographed objects that caught their attention in their various styles as the collections were moved.
The joy of the project is in the eclectic range of items featured, which span centuries, plus seeing them set alongside one another. Among the items freelance photographer Ngwu chose to shoot are a 19th-century embroidered shoe from India and The Beatles usherette’s dress made for the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964.
Meanwhile, Manchester-based fashion photographer Hodson captured Robin Day’s 1953 Q Rod chair next to Vico Magistretti’s 1968 Selene chair; a silk velvet double-breasted coat dress designed by Bruce Oldfield in 1986; a striped mohair jumper designed by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood for their Seditionaries Collection between 1977-1980; and a fragment of a hanging tapestry created in Akhmim, Egypt, between the 4th and 5th century.
Shahram Saadat, a photographer based between London and Paris, snapped a similarly eccentric collection of objects, from a Eero Aarnio pastil chair manufactured by Asko in 1967; to the Atalanta and Milanion fresco by John Dickson Batten painted in 1922; and Magista Obra Nike football boots from 2014 next to a pair of shoes of Spitalfields silk from the 1730s.
Finally Grout, a street culture photographer, chose items including an Iranian 1550-1600 panel design of lobed medallions with Safavid-style princely figures and animals; a lounge chair designed by Charles Eames in 1956; and a 1992 Stüssy T-shirt.
This remarkable collection of objects will be available for the public to view from next year. “V&A East Storehouse offers a unique opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the magical behind-the-scenes world of a working museum store, through a self-guided public network intertwined with the world’s greatest collection of art design and performance,” says Tim Reeve, deputy director and CEO of the V&A.
“We are particularly excited to be bringing the collections and archives to communities across the four Olympic boroughs, in a part of London with a rich creative heritage and great contemporary creative potential, for a new audience to discover a radically different type of museum experience when Storehouse opens in 2025.”
