The New Art Gallery in Walsall has a new exhibition by artist Alan Kane called ‘4 Bed Detached Home of Metal’ which combines metal culture and contemporary art. Part of the exhibition includes the re-creation of Lacuna Coil fan David Jolley’s study, highlighting his collection of ‘Monsters of Rock’ memorabilia and Lacuna Coil.
Emptyspiral were invited to visit the exhibition and I caught up with David to ask him all about it:
Matt: Hi David, this is amazing! Tell me how this all came together?
David: It started with a Facebook post by ‘Home of Metal’, asking fans to submit their collections – interesting set ups at home, and how they display their collections. My daughter suggested that I submit something, knowing what my collection is like! I gathered together all my Lacuna Coil stuff in the corner of the room – which surprised me with just how much I’ve got! I don’t think it has ever been out all at the same time. I put it all out and replied to the post and the artist contacted me and said that looks exactly like the kind of thing we’re looking for. I have a dedicated room for all this, which not many people do, and he asked if we could come around and have a look. Someone from the gallery came over, had a good look around, and loved everything in here – particularly I think, the scrapbooks. I’ve been keeping scrapbooks since the 1990s; they have magazine clippings, but also tickets, set-lists etc.
Matt: It’s absolutely stunning! A great reminder of just how many things there are to collect for Lacuna Coil fans. I’m sure that there are many more T-shirts you have as ask.
David: Absolutely! I’ve worn through countless T-shirts over the years. Perhaps I should look back through my photo albums and look at a ‘timeline’ of Lacuna Coil T-Shirts.
Matt: When did this all start for you?
David: I started following Lacuna Coil in 2001 when I got Unleashed Memories, and got plenty of T-shirts, the first release Comalies box set, Heavens A Lie single etc. as they were released. I became a proper “die-hard” in 2005 when they did the first full UK tour and from then on I’ve tried my best to get pretty much anything and everything, and see them as many times as possible.
Matt: That’s brilliant! A super-fan! So the exhibition is on for 10 weeks starting from tomorrow (22nd June) and it’s fascinating to see various aspects of metal…
David: Yes, it’s all part of the 50 years of heavy metal with the flagship being the Black Sabbath exhibition at the Birmingham Art Museum. The installation here is the re-creation of fans’ bedrooms and sculptures representing the ‘home’ of metal; there are things like a three-piece suite made of rock and metal – it’s all about the integration. So over the summer there are lots of exhibitions and lots to see.
Matt: It’s great to see the metal genre getting some attention – it feels like it’s reached a level of social acceptance.
David: Certainly is, 50 years is a long time and it’s so much more every day. It’s now spread across generations.
Matt: Totally agree. Metal is also one of the most diverse genres of music..
David: Yeah, there’s a lot of blurring of edges. You can dip into some many themes and styles!
Matt: There’s a form of metal music for everyone..
David: And there’s Lacuna Coil music for everybody!
Matt: True! Do you have any favourite things in the collection?
David: My favourite thing is not a physical item, it’s the memory of designing the Lego mini sets for the band and giving them out at the 1.19 show meet n’ greet, and Cristina’s reaction especially. Best moment ever…actually, one of my favourite physical items is a Karmacode era carrier bag! I love that!
Matt: I love the lego 1.19 Show stage you’ve created! So what happens after 10 weeks? You’ve got to get this all home…
David: Haha! Yeah, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I don’t want to think about that! Packing it up was a very big task. That took a few days and a very big truck! We had one day here, in the gallery, installing just the furniture and then another day stocking the shelves. The staff here have been great and I’ve had a lot of help. They have been good with supplying packing boxes and materials, transport and staff to make sure i’m not doing it alone.
Matt: Did you take photos at home to remind yourself where everything goes?
David: Oh yeah! I had to document everything very carefully. As for getting it back? I’ll worry about that in 10 weeks. I’m just going to enjoy it for the moment.
Matt: Are you going to be here, in your ‘room’ to meet people?! A cup of coffee…?
David: It would great to arrange a meet and greet (with fellow coilers), but I certainly won’t be here for the whole 10 weeks. I’d need to bring my work desk in!
Matt: Haha! Well thank you David for this amazing collection!
The ‘4 Bed Detached Home of Metal’ exhibition being held at The New Art Gallery in Walsall from 22nd June to 1st September 2019 and admission is free! You can find out more about it at the official website here and the ‘Home of Metal Black Sabbath Exhibition’ here.
Lacuna Coil today announced the name and release date of their next album
Metal Hammer and Century Media announced today that on September 6, the Lacuna Coil will be at the London Dungeon where they’ll take fans around the exhibits, then hold a Q&A session and exclusive playback of their new studio album Black Anima – more than a month before the record’s release on October 11! 
