Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter, Devon UK

Earlier this month local cob artists, Jackie Abey and Jill Smallcombe, collected two tonnes of subsoil from the RAMM building site in preparation for a joint exhibition next year. The exhibition, Cob and Collections, will run from May to September at A la Ronde, a fascinating and some might say quirky National Trust property on the outskirts of Exmouth.

The exhibition will feature a selection of small and surprising cob objects set amongst the extraordinary collections at A la Ronde. Inspiration comes from the collections at RAMM, A la Ronde and the British Museum. Jackie and Jill have explored the extensive collection of Mesopotamian clay tablets at the British Museum and, fascinated by the way we pack, store and display objects, they spent the summer at the Ark, RAMM’s purpose built collections store.

The subsoil was loaded by RAMM’s main redevelopment contractor, BAM Construction. It will be mixed with soil from A la Ronde and made into a giant cobelisk - an obelisk made from cob. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to meet the artists as they build it.