• Colour drawing of a staged theatrical scene framed by two symmetrical classical structures with niches containing gilded statues, flanked by trees. At the centre, a painted backdrop shows an island within an archipelago, with a visible settlement; in the foreground, a vessel approaches the shore. Four figures stand before the backdrop holding branches and other objects. The composition is enclosed within a thin rectangular gold border.

Black and white photo of a man dressed in a suit and tie sitting in a bath and holding a phone

Adrian Brunel: The Systematic Jackdaw

by Josephine Botting Approaching an archival collection the scale of Adrian Brunel’s is a daunting prospect. Every box contains a hotchpotch of items, which at first defy coherence: snapshots, letters, diaries, cuttings, contracts, scribblings on scraps of paper, legal summons…