Dr Jessica Barker, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Art History at the Courtauld Institute, has co-curated an exhibition opening at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich on 16 May.
Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval places contemporary artworks alongside objects from medieval monastic contexts to presenting a rich dialogue between medieval rules for living, and modern reflections on how life is, and might yet be, organised.
Contemporary artists on display include Ingrid Pollard, Danh Vo, and Elizabeth Price, whose Disco Vestments, a series of hand-tinted pinhole photographs recalling nun’s habits, is exhibited for the first time. The Hatton Codex, the oldest surviving copy of the Rule of St. Benedict, made in c. 700 AD, and the Etheldreda Panels, one of only a handful of English medieval paintings to have survived the Reformation, will also be shown. Technical analysis for the panels was undertaken at the Courtauld Institute Conservation department by MA Conservation of Easel Paintings student Ursula Griffith, under the supervision of Pippa Balch, Senior Lecturer.
Dr Jessica Barker is a specialist in medieval sculpture. Her research ranges across northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, addressing questions of materiality and the body.
Dr Jessica Barker and exhibition co-curator Dr Ed Krčma said, “We are excited to bring together such extraordinary objects from the Middle Ages and works from some of the most important artists working today. We hope that this strange collision between two very different worlds will open up new perspectives on how we live now, and fresh ideas about how we might craft more balanced and meaningful lives in the future.”
The exhibition runs 16 May – 4 October 2026 at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich. It is accompanied by a co-authored book, Living by the Rule: Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery, published by Lund Humphries.
