In a groundbreaking fusion of art and architecture by Jacob van der Beugel, portrayals of the DNA of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and their heirs are part of the fabric of the building at Chatsworth.
An entire ceramic room was created using textured, handmade ceramic panels. Fixed to the walls of the North Sketch Gallery each of the 659 warm, ochre coloured panels is unique and can fit only in one place.
Using samples from the Duke and Duchess, their son Lord Burlington and his wife Lady Burlington, the panels were embedded with a depiction of the Devonshire family's DNA. Aspects of each individual's personality were captured on raised ceramic blocks representing their personal DNA strand in an unusual and creative take on the traditional portrait. The installation also plays with ideas around ancestry and inheritance as past and future members of the family are linked to the wider pool of humanity.
Jacob van der Beugel's North Sketch Sequence won a 2014 CODAaward from CODAworx, a global community created to celebrate design and art.
Find out more about Jacob van der Beugel and check out 'Treasures from Chatsworth' (episode 2), which is all about the North Sketch Gallery.
