Protect Your Art Work From The Following Five Hazards.
Your artwork is at risk if you don’t protect it from these 5 agents of deterioration.
- Water
Water can come from numerous places- burst pipes, flooded basements or leaking roof- so the odds of your artwork being damaged by water is high.
Consider where you store your collections. Keep your objects out of basements and away from windows, water coolers and pipes. Keep all of your work art raised off the floor by at least 10 cm. If roof leak is a concern,use plastic sheeting above objects, preferably not in direct contact.
- Pests
Both, insects and vermin, can damage your collection, especially organic materials such as paper, textiles, skins and feathers. Keep your collection spaces clean, dry and inspect them regularly.
- Pollutants
Pollutants can come from inside and outside of confined spaces. Wool emitting sulphur gases, tarnishing silver, wood pulp paper, folders, mats and discolouring art on paper. Keep your collection away from a close association of a pollutant source. Take care whilst choosing materials that will be in intimate contact with your art pieces.
- Exposure to Light
To enjoy your art, exposure to light to some extent is required however, there are ways to save them from overexposure. Avoid placing works of art in direct sunlight, place it in indoor lighting- LED, incandescent or UV filtered. Damage from light is cumulative and often cannot be reversed.
- Adverse Humidity
Adverse relative humidity can damage art materials, particularly organic. It can absorb and release moisture, causing the object to swell and shrink. High or low relative humidity can cause objects to warp, crack, or tear.
Controlling humidity can be expensive, but it is possible to create sufficiently stable environments for most collections by avoiding temperature extremes.
Whether you maintain a collection at home, in your office, or at a storage facility, the above-mentioned hazards represent most of the risks you can encounter with your collection. Make sure to take proper care of your artworks.
