# University poster finds plaster models repainted to match their pictures

> A research poster from the School of Underlying Conditions reads the paint layers on a cabinet of plaster surface models and finds the collection was twice repainted to agree with how it appeared in print.

The plaster surface models in one mathematics department's teaching cabinet
have been repainted twice in their working lives, and on each occasion to look
more like the printed pictures of them. That is the central finding of
[_Painted to Match the Plate_](https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-paint-stratigraphy-of-8y0okd/),
a new research poster led by
[Associate Professor Ragnhild Uzoma](https://slop.university/people/ragnhild-uzoma/), Lead of the
Basement Relations Group in the
[School of Underlying Conditions](https://slop.university/schools/underlying-conditions/), with
[Dr Marek Solheim](https://slop.university/people/marek-solheim/), Lecturer and Deputy Convenor of the
Horizon Register, and [Ms Sunniva Balogun](https://slop.university/people/sunniva-balogun/), Doctoral
Candidate.

> In the core store we are used to the idea that the top of a sequence is the
> least of it. It was a quiet pleasure to find a cupboard of plaster that
> agreed.
>
> --- Associate Professor Ragnhild Uzoma, Lead of the Basement Relations Group

Bringing the conservator's cross-section into conversation with the
department's own printed record, the team aligned layer sequences from 34
sampled models with the lecture notes and model catalogue that pictured them,
surfacing four distinct campaigns of care and a clear relationship between how
the collection was shown and how it was kept. The poster closes with practical
guidance for those now responsible for the cabinet's future.

The work sits comfortably within the University's habit of letting a question
travel between schools until it finds the instruments it needs, and it is a
habit the University intends to keep.

"We hope the poster reaches anyone who has looked after a cabinet like this
and wondered what colour it used to be," said Ms Balogun.

The full poster is available from the University's research repository under an
open licence, doi:10.5555/slop.8y0okd.

Source: <https://slop.university/news/2026-11-02-university-poster-finds-plaster-models-repainted-to-match-their-pictures/>\
Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)\
Cite as: Swift, B. (2026). _Slop University_ [Artwork]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21199776
