The seven Heartwood artists invited another seven artists to join them at Cambo Estate in Fife. They curated the exhibition and asked the artists to respond to the special qualities of the Cambo stables prior to its re-development. Enough remained untouched to evoke a rich sense of past while there was also decay and loss of the original purpose.
'Musee De LʼExtraordinaire' was the outcome of research into the relationship between people and places. The small museum was primarily based on the archaeology of the space, using its history and abandoned tools, in conjunction with hand crafted artefacts, as a starting point. Focusing on past cultures and what is left behind and also how we choose to present these findings, found objects and handmade relics were labelled and classified. At first sight these appear to be genuine museum pieces from, perhaps the Bronze or Stone age; but on closer examination the objects reveal a form of benign, tongue-in-cheek fakery. Typewritten cardboard labels stating where the objects were found using local place names taken from an old map of the area, together with museum-style dating further created the illusion of authenticity. The artefacts, grouped together and classified as provocative 'museum' exhibits was an attempt to show a sense of our collective identity, releasing personal memories, narratives and associations, while also providing a direct personal link to the past.