The new art exhibition, The Shed Project by Lee John Phillips, was officially opened at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery on Friday.

Chairman of trustees Clr. Michael Williams described the show as ‘an incredible exhibition, the detail of the work is phenomenal’ and then introduced Lynne Crompton, curator and gallery manager at Oriel Q in Narberth, who officially opened the show.

Lynne said: “When Lee first had the idea of the project, he did not realise quite what a large task it would be. He initially thought it would take him three years, then five, then seven years and now he has removed any idea of a timeframe altogether. But in undertaking this work, Lee has achieved so much more than just copying his grandfather’s possessions. He has recorded it in an amazing work of art, where the compositions and execution are superb. It is an act of love created with huge skill. When we draw, we do so to record and understand. Lee should be commended on doing this fantastic project. He and it will be in history somewhere and deserves to be.”

The project was commenced in March 2014. The project involves Lee visually cataloguing the entire contents of his late grandfather’s tool shed. He estimates there to be around 100,000 items in total and has currently completed around 6,500 items.

Lee’s grandfather, Handel Jones, died in 1994 and his grandmother Myrtle treated the shed space as a mausoleum. Handel was a practical man and would spend a great deal of time in the shed, fixing, salvaging and making. Nothing was thrown away.

The project has gained increasing popularity since its origins and has been promoted through both local and international presses. The work has also been included in the Sir Kyffin Williams Drawing Prize, the Jerwood Drawing Prize and Welsh Artist of the Year. The project received funding from Welsh Arts Council and this is the first time that it has been shown in Pembrokeshire.

Lee John Phillips’s The Shed Project continues at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery until Saturday, November 11.