Compelled to Collect: A la Ronde hosts AbeySmallcombe cob exhibition

Visitors to A la Ronde, the quirky National Trust property near Exmouth, can enjoy also an exhibition of cob art this summer.

Compelled to Collect, a new exhibition from Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum features the work of collaborative artists AbeySmallcombe. A selection of small and surprising cob objects are set amongst A la Ronde’s extraordinary collections.

The cob objects were inspired by the collections at RAMM, A la Ronde and the British Museum.

Devon artists, Jackie Abey and Jill Smallcombe, worked closely with the Mesopotamian clay tablets at the British Museum and, fascinated by the way we pack, store and display objects, they spent the summer at the Ark, RAMM’s purpose built collections store.

The exhibition draws on these experiences and the remarkable similarities between RAMM objects and the collections at the National Trust property.

Compelled to Collect, the exhibition runs from to Sunday, October 30 and includes a series of special events.

For admission charges and opening times see the National Trust’s A La Ronde website or call 01395 265514.

• Special events in May and June: Cobelisk Construction (an obelisk made of cob) – Tuesdays 3, 10, 17 & 24 May and 7 & 14 June, from 10.30am.

Cob Workshop – Wednesday 1 June, 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm, 3pm. Entry to the grounds is free.