Kate Ammersley's charcoal drawings are inspired by specimens from the Booth Museum's collection. Courtesy Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton.

A new exhibition at Brighton’s Booth Museum will combine its natural history exhibits with challenging new artwork.

The exhibition, titled Order and Chaos, runs from April 16 to June 19 2005, placing new works from artist Kate Hammersley next to objects from the museum’s collection, some of which have not been seen by the public before.

It will use the language of roadside billboards to describe her larger than life charcoal drawings, which are inspired by items from the Booth Museum’s collection, replacing museum-style labelling with advertising slogans.

In doing so Hammersley will attempt to show how man has attempted to shape and define nature.

Edward Booth pioneered museum display work and was the inspiration for the exhibition. Courtesy Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton.

“A recurrent theme in my work is human intervention in species development and the natural world,” explained Kate, who is artist-in-residence at the museum.

“Currently I am working on a series of drawings and text illustrations which examine labelling and attempt to replace the museum label with labels inspired by American billboard posters.”

Victorian ornithologist Edward Booth founded the museum, and was the first person to display birds in recreated natural habitats. Order and Chaos was inspired by this pioneering work and Kate will talk at the museum about her experiences as artist-in-residence on May 21, at 2.30pm.