Meet Mikei Hall, a living legend in the art world. For the past three decades, he's been at the heart of the Tate, personally handling almost every kind of art imaginable – from controversial pieces like elephant dung to priceless Old Masters. Today, we're pulling back the curtain for an intimate chat, diving into the incredible technical skills and precision it takes to be a senior art handling specialist.
Mikei at work in the Tate
Tell me about your journey with art.
I was a very inquisitive child who liked to take things apart and see how they worked. I remember watching this programme called Blue Peter where he used to make things out of sticky black plastic and bits of cardboard and anything you could find. I once poured a whole bottle of washing up liquid down the sink to make it into a vessel. When my mum came home she said, “when your dad sees this you’ll definitely get a rocket!”.
Haha my goodness!
I suppose I had the aptitude that I was always good with my hands. I always liked making things, drawing, and I’m dyslexic so my brain was more inclined to be on the creative side and the making side. There’s something quite transformative and magical about taking a pile of objects and making something of them. I’ve always been fascinated with making things and how things work - I still am actually. Growing up I found I was caught somewhere between art and design. In my original career I wanted to be furniture designer and was persuaded to do an Interior Design course. I ended up being an assistant designer for a furnishing company. They went bankrupt in the late 80s so I left and did a foundation at Chelsea for six months, I got a qualification in graphic arts then landed in an arts studio doing fabrication for advertising companies, 6 foot rabbits for a Cadbury’s advert, that kind of thing.
Mikei working hands on with his team at the Tate
How’d you get your first role at the Tate?
An artist friend of mine told me about the job. I wasn’t interested at first because I thought it wasn’t likely a man of colour was going to get a job there. I wasn’t sure it was the right fit but in those days, if you got an interview somewhere prestigious, you could put that on your CV so I had the interview, completely forgot about it for 7 weeks and then my mum told me the Tate rang and wanted to know why I hadn’t replied to their letter. It turned out that my postman had delivered the letter to the wrong place. The rest is history.
That’s incredible.
Yea, in those days there was a bit of nepotism and it was a sort of “old boys network”, but I literally came in and winged the interview. The person who employed me was apparently impressed with my design skills and I think they just took a chance really.
And 25 years later…
Just over 30 actually.
Wow.
Yea, I know. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was two or three years experience and move on. But I enjoyed it and I still enjoy it. There were loads of challenges that materialised along the way, for example the Tate Modern, which was built when I started. I spent five years working there. There were loads of programmes and lots of change going on, it was quite an exciting time. The director was Nick Serota, who was quite an ambitious, forward-thinking director, and a very visual man. He changed the way viewing art was done in the 90s and early 00s. In fact he was a great instigator for change, not just in the art world but socially as well. He introduced this idea of rotating a collection annually, which refreshed it and gave people an excuse to come into the galleries more often. It increased the visitor flow and their engagement. Eventually he became the director of all four Tates. When this was going on it was all quite exciting. When I was promoted I would also travel with the shows going on tour, to about 19 countries.
Would you follow the Turner show travelling for example?
Yes. You go to the venue and oversee the installation, work with an exterior team - curators, art handlers, artists, registrars from another country etc. The idea is that you’re the British expert ensuring everything is done within the standards and protocols that we’ve agreed. It was a great experience and a good way to learn.
How much has your role developed over time?
These days I’m permanent. I oversee what happens at Tate Britain in terms of all the exhibitions, displays, and special projects. I’m part of the site-based curatorial team. There’s a permanent team of us at each of the Tate galleries, Modern, St Ives, Liverpool. In between there’s a flexible team collection care team who look after loans, the delivery of artworks between the four sites and so on.
How big is your team then?
There are three senior techs that are permanently based here but it depends on the exhibition. We have a rotating group of handlers so our team can go from four or five handlers to fifteen depending - the bigger the project, the bigger the team.
No Woman, No Cry, Chris Ofili, Mixed media including elephant dung
Tell me about some of the works you’ve handled.
Ooo, we go from traditional art, all-based art and sculpture, to Chris Ofili’s “No Woman No Cry” which is elephant dung in resin! I’ve done things with vaseline with Matthew Barney’s OTTOshaft, they involved tapioca as well. When you’re dealing with contemporary artists who are working with contemporary themes, they tend to use materials that are around them, so you have to be a person who is flexible to change. There’s a lot of learning, self-learning and you have to keep abreast of what’s going on. Even though I’ve been here a long time, I’m always saying, “you are only almost as good as what you did yesterday not what you did ten years ago”. You have to keep yourself relevant and that manifests itself in different ways; I go to a lot of shows and keep in touch with a lot of artists, gallerists, studios, fabricators etc, so I see a lot of behind the scenes.
Recently I installed a car for Jasleen Kaur, who won the Turner Prize. When it arrived, I basically got a bunch of photographs and had to figure it out. That’s very common but we’re getting more and more organised.
I’m surprised. I assumed artists would be very meticulous.
It varies, some are very meticulous with full documentation and instructions and some are very loose. Sometimes an artist might employ someone to make something but they might not be around or it was just a one-off job, so they don’t have the need to record it. Generally in the contemporary art world, I think it’s gotten better, because things have a lot of value. Also if things travel abroad then things have to have the exact size and weight etc, but it can be a bit of a grey area.
Mikei installing with yellow Tate crates
Yes and you’ve got your big “Tate yellow” coloured crates haven’t you?
Yes! Super big, super heavy, super complex. Designed to be bullet-proof, on the one hand they protect the work and on the other hand sometimes they’re too big that you can’t even get them into the venue! Sometimes people don’t think about the logistics of getting the crate into that space. Sometimes things are designed with price in mind or a different purpose and delivery gets forgotten.
Sociomobile,Jasleen Kaur, 2024
What has kept you there for 30 years?
Everyday is really challenging, it’s not boring or repetitive. You meet interesting people, curators, conservators, registrars. It’s a real hub of learning and good for anyone’s practice too. I often get the question, what’s the most complicated installation that you’ve ever done and I always answer the same answer with, “the next thing”, because I don’t know what it’s going to be. Obviously there’s a certain amount of adrenaline and stress but if you channel it the right way it can be positive. The challenge of someone asking “is it possible to hang something from the ceiling that ways 4 tonnes?” and you think, we’ll find a way. When you meet that challenge then that’s a real reward too.
Tell me about something that you’ve learnt along the way.
When I started I didn’t have any computer skills at all. Being dyslexic it was challenging, but now I’ve even learnt complex drawing programmes. 20 years ago I never would have thought I’d be able to do these things but it’s a part of progression and growth. I’ve never regarded myself as an expert, I’ve always said I was a specialist, because I’m always learning.
I like that!
When you say expert, it seems like you know it all. Growing, that’s the thing. If you really want to enjoy this as a career, you have to embrace the fact that change is a good thing. The challenge is what spurs you on, otherwise you shouldn’t be doing it.
Harrier and Jaguar, Fiona Banner, 2010 Mixed media, Tate Modern
Do you have a favourite exhibition you’ve worked on?
I wouldn’t say I have a favourite because half an hour later I’d think of another one! Each project has it's own DNA, its own unique selling point - they all bring something different so it’s really hard to pick one against another. There was one called The Asset Strippers by Mike Nelson and that was quite challenging but at the end it was absolutely fantastic. I did the painting show with Lucien Freud which I thought was incredible. For Fiona Banner, we suspended a fighter jet from the ceiling which was a technical marvel. Then there was a rehang two years ago, we did a “salon” hang. Basically we reinstalled nearly 65 paintings in one really small gallery hanging off chain and the Tate has never done that before. I had to do a lot of research with the National Gallery team because they hang everything on chain. When I look back at that I think it was a real achievement because it simply didn’t exist before.
A lot of Turner Prizes over the years too. Devine commissions, Alvaro Barrington, Hew Locke, Sarah Lucas, Richard Long, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume. Being part of the team that did the opening displays at the Tate Modern is a really special part of history now, they were still decorating while we were installing. No one knew how the museum was going to be received, it was an overwhelming success but at the time you weren’t really sure. A lot of critics were saying “why do we need another gallery in London?”, now it’s one of the biggest in the world. It’s really great to be able to say I was part of that.
What’s your relationship like with these artists, curators etc?
I enjoy it but at the beginning it was a bit nerve racking, you have to grow into this role because there’s no manual for this kind of work. At the end of the day it’s about working with human beings and understanding basic psyche - you’d approach a person who’s shy in a very different way to a person who’s an extravert. You have to do your research as well, what kind of environment do they work in, what’s their favourite colour, what foods do they like to eat. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle really, you get all the pieces and you put them together. My approach changes from person to person as I absorb what their needs are and what I can bring to them to facilitate their needs. That way of working has put me in good stead.
Harrier and Jaguar, Fiona Banner, 2010 Mixed media, Tate Modern
How does this role differ at the Tate versus a smaller gallery?
It’s a big leap to go from a small gallery to a big gallery, but it’s all about scale basically. Because of the scale I work on, I work with project teams, so there’s a lot more dialogue and meetings and zoom calls. It may not be as direct but working in that way you’re able to cover a lot of ground and it takes away a lot of risk when the thought process is so extensive. Everyone has to have their different input, you’ve got the conservation team, lighting team, art handlers, but before all that you’ve got the building contractors who actually put the space together. It all has to be micromanaged or else you get mistakes.
Semi-Detatched, Michael Landy, Tate Britain 2004
Who is the main driver in protecting the artwork?
Mainly us as the art handlers, but conservation have a view too. The handling and movement are when the work is its most vulnerable so that’s where the thought and dialogue come into place. You’re thinking about who needs to be there, you’re thinking about making that journey the shortest it can be and at the right time. What you really want is to unpack a work, have it checked, install it and once that’s done it’s safe.
It’s so fascinating. Do you ever feel people take it for granted all the steps it takes to put an installation together?
Mikei Hall, as nominated for the Sky Arts Hero Award 2024
People only ever see the end product. The only thing that I’ve seen that comes close to exposing behind the scenes is the V&A Storehouse, that gives you a behind the scenes look because you can go in and see people working. The idea is to understand some of the logistics and how it works. In general I think there’s more of an appetite for this sort of thing nowadays.
Yes, and you were nominated for the Sky Arts Hero Award of course.
Yes, last year I was nominated. Any organisation no matter the size has to have an infrastructure. You hear about people who collect Swiss watches - they are this sort of mechanism that’s made of many little components and each component is very different but put them together and they create something unique, but if you take out any of these components, the whole thing stops working. So… there’s a metaphor for you
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