All Of Us Together – A Journey Of Expression And Friendships

Rosie Galloway-Smith

When I first heard about the Workington art trail commissions and that they would involve shop windows my imagination soared as I could see how windows in public places would lend themselves so well to impactful installations.

My initial idea was based around self expression and clothing, the idea of wearing your heart on your sleeve. We were asked to consider possible groups to work with and I suggested carers of people with dementia or perhaps teenage boys who were exploring their identities in an increasingly complex world. The first because of my own experiences of the devastating difficulties dementia causes and the second group because when teaching supply in secondary schools I had witnessed the complex and again difficult process that adolescents go through in trying to work out who they are and how they fit in with the world. I hope to explore a piece of work with this group in the future.

As an artist, I have explored surface pattern in other commissions and so I was keen to take these ideas further. This time I wanted the drawings used to come from the group I was working with so that the final piece was very much a collaboration. It meant I had to give up some control but also that the piece could develop in unexpected and creative ways.

I was thrilled to be awarded one of the commissions and the group chosen for me to work with was Age UK West Cumbria. Sadly, this organisation has ceased operations in West Cumbria but a group of elders were still meeting weekly at the Moorclose Community Centre and so it was arranged that I would work with them. The group was expanded to include a range of members of the local community and this enriched the development of the project greatly.

I met the group and introduced myself as an artist and spoke a little about the art I made. I shared with the group my recent experiences in packing up my parents’ house in North Cumbria and the difficult emotions I had felt around it. Sharing what was personal to me made it easier for others to share their experiences of memories and loss. As a group we decided to bring in objects that had significant value to us and arranged a date for the first group session.

Emotion matters to me, they are authentic and honest to each individual, and different emotions arise through experiences and a myriad of situations. Somehow the most personal struggles are in fact shared by others and recognisable to them. I think art is well suited as vehicle for emotion because it allows a space between known things to open up, in a similar way to poetry or music. Somehow something new can be made yet it resonates with others in different ways in a language beyond words alone. I strive to make art that speaks to people on a deep and complex level and asks the viewer to engage and spend a bit of time with it.

When I was a younger artist, I spurned sentimentality because it felt cloying and false. I wanted to break life open and get to the marrowbone of what it means to be a human having experiences in this world. As I have grown older, I have recognised that nostalgia is a response to a rapidly changing world and is a shield against the pain of loss, something that is an increasingly familiar visitor as you age. The nostalgia that my parents would irritate me with is now an important part of my own story and memories, often all that is left of long-gone times.

SESSION 1

For the first session we focused on drawing and discussing our objects. There was a scout woggle from when one elderly couple met, a proud photo of a grandad’s prize-winning garden, a grand child’s first bootie, a small bible dating from the war. As the group filled up and others wanted to join in, we began using phone photos, and other items and keepsakes that people carried with them.

The atmosphere was one of sharing, memories, and friendship. I was blown away by the level of engagement the group gave and the enthusiasm. Drawings were created using black sharpies over tracing paper with print outs created as we went along.

BETWEEN SESSIONS

I took all the images and digitised them into a black and white pattern that could be repeated. I then desiged a dress pattern using special software and created a toile dress to check the shape and scale. This dress pattern was then digitally scanned so that it could be superimposed on the patterns.

The four dresses show the patterns slowly disappearing, signifying the loss of even important memories that happen in dementia, which is most often painful for family members, as vital connections fade.

SESSION 2

Session two was all about sewing! I was pleased to discover some of the group had industrial experience in sewing and this greatly helped us finish on time! We divided into 4 groups and shared responsibilities for cutting out, pinning facings, and sewing pieces together.

I used both sessions to take photos of groups of items belonging to the groups to use for my paintings.

Again, the session was full of laughter, skill sharing, and reflection. Seeing their drawings printed onto the fabric was incredibly rewarding for the group and they were keen to keep any scraps for the group’s own use.

INSTALLATION

The Installation of the piece in November was nail biting for me! The group decided they wanted the lights on the dresses to slowly fade with the patterns and it took me a while to find the right wattage of LED bulbs, and to ensure all equipment was PAT compliant.

My husband brought a step ladder and we worked as quickly as we could to get the dresses in place upstairs and the paintings hung downstairs. Some pieces of furniture had to be unscrewed to make sure we were being as safe as possible when positioning the ladder! I accidentally dropped a heavy table and panicked the bank staff with the loud noise!

I’m so happy with the final installation and paintings. The title ‘All of Us Together’ came to me quite spontaneously as I felt this was exactly what the project had ended up being about. Thank you to the Moorclose Community Centre, HSBC bank Workington, Cumberland Council and Anne Waggot Knott for enabling the project to happen!