For 50 years, Roger Ackling made objects by burning wood — focussing sunlight through the lens of a hand-held magnifying glass to scorch repeated patterns of lines on the surface.
And people will get the chance to see his work from this weekend, when Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery hosts an exhibition called SUNLIGHT – described as “the most significant exhibition of his work to date”.
Ackling, who died in 2014 at the age of 66, had strong links with Norfolk.
He and his wife Sylvia bought a coastguard’s cottage perched on a cliff at Weybourne in 1987.
And he gathered driftwood for his work in the 1980s and 1990s from the beach near his home.
He also taught at Norwich University of the Arts (then Norwich School of Design and later Norwich University College of the Arts) for more than 20 years.
The exhibition, which runs from Saturday, May 18 until Sunday, September 22, features more than 150 of Ackling’s work, from his earliest experiments with a lens to his final objects. Some have never been exhibited in the UK before.
From the mid-1970s, Ackling exhibited consistently internationally – most frequently in France, Switzerland, the US and Japan – but his work was comparatively less seen at home.
As well as his work on the driftwood which he collected, the show also features art he made using domestic wooden objects and tools.
Amanda Geitner, guest curator, said: “This exhibition has been swept along by the affection and admiration of so many artists, students and curators – testifying to the enduring significance of his work today.”
Dr Rosy Gray, curator of modern and contemporary art at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, said the work was “beautiful, enigmatic and powerful”.
Margaret Dewsbury, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for communities, said: “Roger Ackling spent significant periods of time living and producing work at Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast, so it feels particularly apt the first major survey of his work will be shown first at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.”