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The new exhibition is called ‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’, which is in the Island’s traditional language of Jèrriais and translates as ‘Being Jersey – Stories of our Island'
An exciting new exhibition sharing key elements of Jersey’s incredible history opens this week at Jersey Museum, Art Gallery & Victorian House.
The new exhibition is called ‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’, which is in the Island’s traditional language of Jèrriais and translates as ‘Being Jersey – Stories of our Island’. It will be officially opened by Minister for Sustainable Economic Development Deputy Kirsten Morel tomorrow (10th) before opening to the public the following day.
Housed within the gallery space on the Museum’s first floor, the new exhibition replaces the ‘Story of Jersey’, which closed last October after more than 30 years. Louise Downie, Jersey Heritage’s Director of Curation & Experience, explained that the gallery had been completely refurbished, with a new look and content, including new stories, a soundscape, art installations and animations, as well as key objects from the collections on display.
Louise said: “We are very excited to open ‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’ and share our new exhibition with visitors and locals. Months of hard work have gone into preparing the gallery space to give it a fresh look and feel, and our teams have been busy researching and creating the new displays, which celebrate some of our Island’s most significant moments. We’ve used the most special objects in our collections as witnesses to our past, exploring how we have come to be an Island and Islanders. These objects are the focus of the exhibition and have been beautifully lit and displayed to showcase the incredible stories they have to share.
“We’d like to thank everyone for their patience while the work has been ongoing and look forward to welcoming visitors old and new to the Museum, where entry is free, which means that everyone can come and enjoy the new exhibition and learn more about Jersey’s unique and varied history.”
‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’ is divided into themes, looking at different aspects of how Jersey came to be Jersey, including when it first became an island in the Ice Age; its identity as an Island and relationship with the British Crown, immigration and language; the contests that have shaped its past, such as the Battle of Jersey and the German Occupation; and its image as an exotic island with a history of attracting honeymooners and artists, and the birthplace of famous socialite Lillie Langtry.
The Island’s traditional language of Jèrriais is present throughout the exhibition, including in its name and sayings (or ditons).
Highlights of the objects on display include a specially reconstructed mammoth bone heap from the ancient Neanderthal site of La Cotte de St Brelade; the 1924 Suffrage bill passed by the States of Jersey; paintings by Romantic artist Jean Le Capelain; a wall of Islanders’ portraits taken from Registration Cards from the Occupation years; landscape images by Victorian architect and photographer Thomas Sutton that have not been on public display before; and original images by Surrealist artist Claude Cahun.
Louise said: “We hold the largest collection of Claude Cahun images in the world and our new exhibition has the most Cahun images on display at one time. We no longer loan out these incredible originals to protect them for future generations to enjoy and we will be changing the content every six months to ensure the photographs are not damaged by too much light exposure. This is the same for some of the special archive documents we have on display, such as the King Charles II Charter and the Witch Trials records, where pages will be turned every few months to protect and preserve them. This also means there will be new content on display for returning visitors to enjoy.”
There are three new art commissions within the exhibition. These are ‘Passing Threads’ by Karen Le Roy Harris and Margarida Lourenco Olivier, which helps to tell the story of immigration; ‘Our Hands’ by Adam Perchard, who involved 65 members of the community to tell the story of Jersey’s witch trials; and a beautiful soundscape by Sam Hills called ‘A story of Jersey’, which can be heard throughout the exhibition. Also new to the gallery space is an area offering visitors a place to pause and reflect. They can do this while enjoying a view over the Weighbridge towards the harbour while listening to poetry by Wace, Jersey’s earliest known writer, information about the Jersey accent and Jèrriais folk stories.
Louise said: “‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’ is an exciting mix of familiar stories told in a different way or from a different angle, and new stories we have not shared before. These stories range from how Neanderthals hunted mammoth in Jersey, to living through the Occupation years with a disability, and how the Channel Islands became the witch hunting capital of Europe in the 1560s and 1660s.
“There is something for everyone in ‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’, whether they are regular visitors to the Museum discovering something new about Jersey’s story, or those unfamiliar with the Island’s incredible history and how it came to be the Island we know today.”
La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île’ at Jersey Museum, Art Gallery & Victorian House is open to the public daily from Wednesday, 11 September. Entry is free.
