our technical manager has decided she would like her team of technicians to put on an exhibition of the work we all make for ourselves. it will be in our onsite gallery. there our 45 in our team working in areas from textiles to hot glass to metal work, etc etc all in the faculty of art and design.
im looking for ways to securely display the 8 boards i have built so far as my contribution to the show. i have been given a wall space 16ft long and i can come out upto 1 meter. the wall is around 10-12 ft tall from memory.
my initial thought was a low level plinth coming out from the wall 700mm and the full legnth, onto this i would fix perspex boxes which would be shaped to hold the base of each board, and bolted so they swivel. the board would then stand upright in the perspex box with another perspex box over the nose. this would swivel off a steel bracket projecting from the wall. this would then allow all boards to stand vertical and be spun on the vertical axis to see it all round and the boards would be secure from the perspex boxes.
what do you guys think and are there any better ideas?
That would be a very hands on display. Make sure to keep enough seperation between the boards. They will be swinging like doors, and someone could take a hit to the back of the head if the next board swung around. On your plinth, mount an up light. Low voltage spot. This will bring the halo from behind. Aim them almost vertical, as not to shine in the viewers eyes Make the board retainers from carbon fiber/ epoxy, molded to the boards with wax paper as a peel ply. This would give an industrial/ modern look, as well as a snug fit.
the reason i was thinking clear perspex was so people can still see the detail at the nose and tail, i like your carbon fibre and peel ply idea though!
and the lights! hadnt thought of that one!
ill maybe add something to the swivel so they cant be spun too fast, a bit of resistance would be good.
I’ll agree with everysurfer - lighting is gonna be very important. What you might want to think about is making your plinth with a perspex top, lighting inside it, so that you’d get some interesting shadows and such, kinda dramatic.
I’d be a little nervous about the swivels; it almost seems like an invitation for somebody to break something. Instead, I might set up the perspex with cutouts so that each board is turned at a different angle but not movable: a hands-off static display. You could then play with some reflectors and such down inside the plinth to get the lighting just right. Maybe something similar at the top with lighting coming down? And a clear perspex ‘shelf’ midway, to hold the boards more or less towards the nose?
Lots of ways to do this, of course. Even some sort of rig with turntables and a slow turning motor, so that all the boards spun slowly.
thanks for your response doc and again to everysurfer. you have both set my train of thinking towards lighting and security. the reason i was thinking swivels is so that you can see the different details on deck and bottoms, fin installs and fins etc. i think i will put each board on a slightly different angle so the board on the left as you look at it will be a view of the rail and each board will turn so by the time you get to number 8 on the right of the view you are seeing the outline of the deck. id really like to do the plinth in perspex but the price is too much for this occasion (id rather build another board than spend a few hundred pounds)
i am thinking of a smaller piece for the base of each, static and fixed to the mdf plinth and maybe something similar at the top.
i need to get on the hunt for some halogen spots now!
what do you guys think about displaying my fins? should i display them in the boards or have them wall mounted?
I’ll agree, the ‘every-board-angled-a-little-different’ idea sounds really good. And definitely have the fins in, for the reason everysurfer gave. People are knuckleheads.
MDF boxes above and below would be a good way to go, maybe black with white wall behind? Or vice versa? You could put your lighting inside the top one.
Halogen spots above- good plan, and for what it’s worth, it’s amazing how often Harriet Housewife decides she wants a new look and junks the old track lighting that cost a great deal new. Very adjustable stuff, track lighting, and ideal for what you want to do. Check your local dump or ‘community exchange’.
