Mourning Tea Tyne & Lost Frequencies by Christoph and Sebastian Mügge brings together found objects and treasured memories contributed by the people of North Shields to form a powerful and moving display of the community’s unique culture and heritage.
Christoph and Sebastian, German-born brothers who are now based in Sweden, have exhibited all over the world, but they have been especially bowled over by the participation and engagements of the people of North Shields and their eagerness and enthusiasm to help. “People have been so welcoming!” exclaims Sebastian. “We now feel at home here”, confirmed Christoph at the preview evening.
The ambitious exhibition of unusual unearthed treasures explores themes of memory, loss, belonging and the traces people leave behind. “It’s fascinating what people keep throughout their lives,” mused Christoph. “Objects are sometimes fetishised.” Personal collections of tea towels, spoons, match boxes, ornaments and wallpaper samples are creatively arranged among more personal and unique items such as a wooden box made in 1945 by a German prisoner of war. “There are stories behind everything.” Christoph also explained that they wanted to examine the element of false memory, as well as dementia and grief. The quotes adorning the oversized teabags hanging throughout were equally amusing and moving to read.
The room full of everyday objects from an era just out of reach – magazine racks, cinefilms, slides, cassette tapes and a reel-to-reel tape deck, evokes a melancholic mood coupled with a fuzzy warm feel of nostalgia. One visitor was surprised at her six-year-old daughter’s reaction to simply just seeing newspapers, “I suppose she’s not really seen them before, as I read everything online nowadays!”
Christoph and Sebastian also wanted to celebrate British culture and the quality of certain products the country has produced – “Look at the intricate design of something ordinary as a tea towel! Even the newspapers – so much effort went into producing them every day, and here we still have some of them, from the 1940s and 50s.” The surprise central piece was a last-minute donation by North Shields legend, Bertie – a full anaconda snakeskin hanging from the ceiling: “It put up a good fight!” he boasted. Another source confirmed that it had actually come to him from an explorer in Scotland.
There is also an audio-visual element to the work, with edited footage of old films, sound recordings and poetry. The exhibition will evolve throughout the summer and they are continuing to accept submissions in their special donation room at the Globe Gallery. All objects are documented and carefully looked after, to be returned to their owners when the exhibition ends in October.
