White Horses and Hill Figures: summer exhibition
Friday, 26 March, 2010

White Horses and Hill Figures, our exciting major exhibition for the Summer of 2010 is now open!

Reflecting primarily on the county of Wiltshire, where spirited white horses can be seen galloping across the chalk downlands, and military badges stamp poignant memories of the past into the landscape. The exhibition explores how the white horses and military badges of Wiltshire were created, their locations, their design, the stories of their history, and associated legends and folklore, as well as the continuing maintenance needed to preserve them.
Featured are historical items and ephemera related to white horses and hill figures, as well as artistic interpretations such as photography, artwork, ceramics and poetry created by local, national and international artists. The items include normally unseen pieces from the Museum’s collection, other Organisations and private collectors.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a summer school on 24 July featuring talks from the most well-known hill figure experts in Britain.

Jenna Spellane, Exhibitions Officer says “We want to show off the beauty, history and mystery of Wiltshire’s chalk downlands with its unique and characteristic artistry that covers and adorns the landscape. We are immensely grateful to Last Refuge Ltd for providing stunning aerial photographs, as well as to numerous chalk hill figure restoration societies for information and images.”

Photo © - Dae Sasitorn and Adrian Warren, Last Refuge Ltd. Authors of the book 'England: An Aerial View'.

The exhibition runs until 3 October 2010. Usual admission charges apply.

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