Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Fashion, Room 40

The Rivington Place Portfolio

Print
2006-2007 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This print by Sonia Boyce (born London, 1962) was made for The Rivington Place Portfolio (see E.163:1 to :9-2009). Boyce, who began her career as a painter, has subsequently moved into collaborative and interactive projects. The V&A holds two wallpapers which she designed and printed for installations - Clapping from 1994, and Lover's Rock from 1998, both inspired by music and performance. Her etching for the portfolio draws on reminiscence sessions, for which she interviewed women about their memories of black female singers. The linear 'haloes' around each name enact a rhythmic pattern reminiscent of the grooves in vinyl records, and the idea of sound waves. Like contour lines on a map, they evoke the place of music in women's lives. The fuzzy imperfect star shapes, overlaid in soft-ground etching, suggest the haziness of recollection and the fluctuating status of these one-time 'stars' of popular music.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • The Rivington Place Portfolio (series title)
  • 1930s to 1960s (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hard and soft-ground etching with spitbite aquatint on paper
Brief description
Rivington Place portfolio, 2006-7: Sonia Boyce
Physical description
Print
Dimensions
  • Height: 76cm
  • Width: 51cm
Copy number
27/50
Marks and inscriptions
BRODSKY CENTER 07-325 S. Boyce 2007 1930s to 1960s 27/50 (in pencil)
Credit line
Purchased through the generous support of the Friends of the V&A
Subjects depicted
Summary
This print by Sonia Boyce (born London, 1962) was made for The Rivington Place Portfolio (see E.163:1 to :9-2009). Boyce, who began her career as a painter, has subsequently moved into collaborative and interactive projects. The V&A holds two wallpapers which she designed and printed for installations - Clapping from 1994, and Lover's Rock from 1998, both inspired by music and performance. Her etching for the portfolio draws on reminiscence sessions, for which she interviewed women about their memories of black female singers. The linear 'haloes' around each name enact a rhythmic pattern reminiscent of the grooves in vinyl records, and the idea of sound waves. Like contour lines on a map, they evoke the place of music in women's lives. The fuzzy imperfect star shapes, overlaid in soft-ground etching, suggest the haziness of recollection and the fluctuating status of these one-time 'stars' of popular music.
Collection
Accession number
E.163:3-2009

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Record createdMay 6, 2009
Record URL
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