© Jayne Wilson

Builders’ coffee cups and the tools of construction have found their way into an art installation at The Herbert in Coventry as it undergoes a major redevelopment.

Recollect: Drawn from Site, by artist Jayne Wilson, takes visitors behind the hoardings of the building site currently enveloping the rest of the gallery, with five large scale ‘memory boxes’ marking this particular moment in the gallery’s life.

“Because it’s going to be closed for some time,” said Jayne, “the Herbert wanted something to keep people interested in the gallery. So I visited the site and have been inspired by the building going on and the objects on the site.”

Jayne has explored the idea of the box as a way of storing memories, with the installation boxes echoing the structures on the building site and building a sense of the memories being created during the new gallery build.

© Jayne Wilson

The boxes are printed with images of the builders, along with plans and sketches, while inside are found objects from items related to pouring concrete to disposable coffee cups.

“You can stick you head in and see the contents,” explained Jayne. “Some are especially at children’s height so they can peer in to see.”

Explaining the cups, Jayne said: “I just thought, there’s so many coffee cups – all those Starbucks and Costa things that we didn’t used to have and that won’t be around in the future… They give a taste of the everyday.”

“I didn’t want to give them titles, but they’ve got themes. For example, one is a tool box, related to all the tools and equipment being used by the builders.”

© Jayne Wilson

As well as creating an archive of the ‘now’ at the Herbert, conversations with builders have provided material for a sound installation featuring their own memories of Coventry.

One of the builders talked about how last time he was here he was working across the road on the altar of Coventry Cathedral, for example, and others have talked about bringing in ‘ghostbusters’ to the medieval vaults that reside under The Herbert.

Visitors are also invited to provide their own memories of both the galley and Coventry for inclusion in the evolving artworks.

The installation is in Gallery One at The Herbert until March 1 2008, which is open while the rest of the venue is closed. Construction is due to be completed in spring 2008 and new gallery spaces are planned for launch in autumn 2008. The £20m redevelopment will highlight Coventry as a major city for arts and heritage in the region.