Hosting a Portrait - What, When & How?
When you signed up we’ll have discussed what works best for you and your exhibition space:
a portrait to paste directly onto a surface
a portrait to paste onto board to be fixed into place
a portrait to hang (e.g. inside a window or display case).
Unless we have discussed putting your portrait into position for you, we ask that you supply the few materials and bits of equipment needed. Equipment list below!
Your piece will arrive last week of November latest, ready to go up at a time that works for you and for as long or short as you like. We ask that all pieces are down by December 23rd when the Royal Cornwall Museum exhibition ends.
What equipment do I need for pasting my image?
If you’re pasting your image you’ll need the following. Most of it you may already have, the rest can be bought from B&Q or any local hardware store:
mixing bucket or small plastic container
small packet of standard wall paper paste
pasting brush or large paint brush and a flat surface to paste on like a pasting table or sheet of hardboard
sponge or rag
a pencil
a spirit level and/or tape measure.
An extra pair of hands is also useful - don’t try to do this on your own!
What about if I’m fixing my portrait to a board first?
Here we’d suggest ply wood - 9mm to 18mm thick is ideal, thinner is cheaper. You’ll also need screws and wall plugs to suit. If you’re not sure what to get ask at your DIY store or email us.
Ply must be cut to size and fixed to the wall before pasting to avoid screws going through the print and it looking messy. If you buy it at B&Q they will cut it to size for you for free so remember to take the measurements of your piece with you!
Once I’ve got all my materials together, what next!?
Prepare the surface first. Clean it down with a dry brush to get rid of any dust, grit, loose paint, etc. before you start.
Mix half the pack of wallpaper paste in your bucket/container. Over-dilute it - the consistency should be a little thinner than soup. This may seem weak but remember your portrait will not be permanent!
Lightly mark out on the wall where the image will hang. Two right angled marks top right and left will be fine - use a spirit level or tape measure to get these level.
Paste the wall first. Then the back of the poster, making sure the portrait is laid face down on a clean dry surface. Watch Gavan Goulder our photographer doing just this in the short video below!
Take the portrait piece with your thumb and forefinger top right and left hand-side of the poster and line it up with the marks on the wall.
Press all the way along the top with dry sponge/rag. This will secure the poster in place. An extra pair of hands will help at this point. With your dry sponge or rag, work your way out from the middle of the poster to the edges to prevent creasing. Press down firmly as you go.
Lightly paste face of poster all over to seal it.
Step back, admire your work and send us some pictures please!
What if it gets vandalised?
This happens! Use your judgement as to whether it can stay up, it’s time for it to come down or you want to get in touch to see if we can supply another one.
How do I take it down?
If the Cornish weather hasn’t already washed it away, soak the poster with water and leave for 20 mins and it should peel off. Then hose or scrub down area - this will get rid of any glue residue and remains of the poster.
During our experiments at Krowji, we discovered that the portraits can look visually pretty interesting as they start to deteriorate so you may want to watch for a while before removing it completely.