MAJOR Conversations the industrial narrative exhibition - a-n The Artists Information Company

I am very pleased to have new work from the Return to Ritherdon project exhibited in MAJOR Conversations: the industrial narrative exhibition at Platform A Gallery, Middlesbrough UK

Bobby Benjamin
Connor Sheilds
Craig Oldham
Faye Hadfield
Hannah Leighton Boyce
Helen Pailing
Kraig Wilson
Mary Griffiths
Nicola Ellis
Theodore Major

As heavy industry declines in the North of England, an understanding of areas with strong industrial heritage and identity have often been distorted by a ‘fog’ of political discourse and ideology; a rhetoric that has often obfuscated much of the personality and You atmosphere within its regions.

This exhibition contributes to the discussion through creative endeavour and viewpoints that may augment, or even subvert, a widely accepted narrative. Being an artist born in, or practicing, within these areas will inevitably prompt a reference to industrial heritage, albeit very often subconsciously.

The artists selected for ‘Major Conversations’ are connected to the North East and North West regions. They uncover a social reality and a lived experience within their work that runs alongside many other creative, intellectual, political or philosophical concerns.
Art and Industry have historically suffered an uneasy relationship since the Industrial Revolution due to the anxiety of certain eminent writers on art. John Ruskin famously feared that the ‘drawing styles encountered by workers were all industry and no art, dreamt up and imposed from without by enemies of creativity’. His opinion that art should draw upon the beauty of nature rather than the ugliness of industry is subtly countered here in ‘Major Conversations’.

Some artists in this exhibition may well explore the notion of amalgamating both artistic and industrial environments, but essentially it is a sense of place, emotionally ingrained into the artists’ sensibilities, that emerges naturally within their creations: a cultural legacy that has inexorably embedded itself into their consciousness and subconsciously informed many artworks.

These contemporary artists are explored within the context of a 19th Century artist, Theodore Major; a Wigan painter whose practice concerned the social & visual impact of heavy industry at that time. By juxtaposing Major’s violent industrial dystopias with contemporary work, the exhibition aims to explore reciprocal narratives and inter-generational connections that increase our understanding of the relationship between industrial heritage and art practice.

The exhibition is the first stage of a touring project that will expand the number of artists involved when it travels from the North East to the North West of the U.K. to test and broaden the narrative. Conversations and experiences surrounding both the exhibition and the arranged seminar will enrich the next part of the project; an exhibition that will take place at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh in Feb-March 2020.

This exhibition is a collaboration between curator Mark Parham and Platform A Gallery.

Nicola Ellis

Nicola Ellis is a British visual artist based in Manchester, who explores the question of who values what—and why—in different contexts. Her work examines how information, tradition, and legacy are passed on and translated through materials, systems, and the people who work within them. Ellis works with materials sourced from places of industry, scientific research, and public institutions; therefore, her sculptures, drawings, and digital artworks often intercept and expand existing material cycles. Her work simultaneously celebrates the connections and distinctions between different contexts at specific points in time. Since 2018, Ellis has developed a long-term relationship with Ritherdon & Co. Ltd, a manufacturer of steel enclosures based in Darwen, Lancashire. The success of this residency led to the two-year Arts Council England-funded placement “Return to Ritherdon,” which resulted in an unprecedented invitation to remain in residence indefinitely. Ellis will continue to observe, participate in, and occasionally disrupt the ecosystem of the factory while working alongside—and in collaboration with—the Ritherdon workforce. Ellis is a member of Para-lab Manchester, a group of artists and material scientists interested in cooperation and collaboration, based in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire. She is also a member of Incidental Unit, the current iteration of the Artist Placement Group. The Incidental Unit draws out key ideas, methods, processes, and rationales for maintaining the independent and critical work of artists and curators, connecting the historical legacy of APG with the complex nature of social practice today. Incidental Unit In recent years, Ellis’s work has been acquired by private and national public collections, including the Government Art Collection and the Arts Council Collection. She is the recipient of a Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award, a Henry Moore Artist Research Fellowship, and several Arts Council England grants to support the development of her work. Most recently, Ellis was awarded Horizon Europe funding by Better Factory to participate in an eighteen-month “Knowledge Transfer Experiment” in collaboration with Ritherdon & Co. Ltd and technology provider Digiotouch. This project developed new technology and infrastructure to support the integration of robotics into a small factory floor, reduce waste, and expand the Ritherdon product portfolio to achieve lot-size-one production of bespoke powder coating finishes.

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