Anonymous Voices: The Art of the Unseen

How would you feel if you were anonymous? In this exhibition of unclaimed 19th century artworks, we investigate how much is revealed through the things we make, and how art can leave a lasting memory.

Curated by a group of University of Leeds MA students from different cultures, Anonymous Voices is an online exhibition inspired by anonymous 19th-century artworks from the Yale Center for British Art.

Anonymous works often struggle for institutional recognition and attract little public attention. One of the main reasons is that there is no figure for audiences or institutions to idolise.

For this reason, this exhibition shifts the focus to the works themselves and to us. It encourages a move away from social spectacle towards something more personal, allowing visitors to engage with art on an intimate emotional level.

The pictures in this exhibition are severed from preconceptions of the artist, opening a space for universal interpretation. Through these unattributed pieces, we ask whether anonymity can speak more truthfully and connect us more deeply to our shared humanity.

Curated by MA Art Gallery and Museum Studies students Xuedan Huang, Emma Williamson and Minyoung Song.

Visit the exhibition

Anonymous Voices: The Art of the Unseen is one of eight online exhibitions curated by MA Art Gallery and Museum Studies and MA Arts Management and Heritage students from the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, as part of an Interpretations course module.

A link to the exhibition will be made available here from 11 December.

Image

Unknown artist, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament (detail), ca. 1834, Oil on panel, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B2001.2.54. Image used under Creative Commons Zero (CC0 1.0) license.