“The awe-inspiring wonders of Victorian collections of curios made an unforgettable impact”  Roland Penrose

Roland Penrose describes in some detail the inspiration he found on visits to Peckover House as a young boy. This project seeks to re-imagine the extensive collection that once filled Peckover House at the turn of the 20th Century, the importance this collection had to the Quaker family, with their interest in enlightenment through a greater understanding of the world, and how the objects and books inspired Roland Penrose’s interest in art and later surrealism. 

The sale catalogue from 1948 points towards the many everyday domestic objects and ornaments that used to fill the rooms at Peckover House. With only a handful of these original, authentic objects remaining there is space to construct narratives through the furniture and objects chosen to stage the rooms. As artists, Aid & Abet are fascinated by the associations that can be created through the use of ‘found objects’ in artworks - this artistic interest in the object is a direct legacy from surrealism.