ArkDes Collection Revived

Large holes, small tears, and mysterious stains. Ahead of the opening of the ArkDes collection exhibition, over 500 objects have been brought in for a medical check-up, where they are being prepared to meet the public.

How is ArkDes collection really doing? With over 4 million items in the collection, continuous work is required to keep drawings, sketches, models, and photographs in good condition. The conservators, the collection’s own “doctors”, are at the heart of the preservation process, carefully examining the collection and working meticulously to conserve sketches, models, and drawings. Now, more than 500 items have been brought in for a check-up.

With a focused gaze, the condition of the objects is studied in detail. A crucial part of the work is to improve the condition of the materials, often with delicate interventions. This can involve repairing a small tear or gently cleaning. It’s a careful balancing act not to do more than necessary.

– It’s both a fun challenge and a diplomatic task, as the conservator must advocate for the object, says Elisabeth Geijer, one of the conservators involved in the project.

ArkDes collection showcases the creative process, which comes with particular challenges. When it comes to working materials, the task is to preserve the sketch’s ephemeral expression rather than restore it to a perfect state. The conservation process has involved working with small napkin sketches, but also very large drawings and models. Paper conservator Lotta Möller emphasises that the material requires a slow pace.

One of the more time-consuming objects has been a drawing of a sliding window1 from the collection of architects Sven Backström and Leif Reinius. At the start of the work, it was yellowed and dirty with many tears. Now, after careful repairs, the drawing is in its best condition in a long time. Every tear has been painstakingly repaired, where parts were missing, new sections of paper have been inserted to prevent further tearing. To flatten the wavy drawing, the entire sheet is humidified and pressed according to all the rules of conservation.

A final touch for many of the objects has been the framing. The concept of reuse has influenced the entire ArkDes reopening, including this process. By cataloguing and assessing frames from past exhibitions, the need for producing new ones has been significantly reduced.

With gentle hands, models, sketches, and drawings are cleaned behind the scenes. Step by step, the collection is brought back to life. Now the objects are in their best form, ready to meet a new audience in September 2024.