THe Shed – Capturing Cumbria’s Voice

7 March to 23 March 2015

A brand new collaborative piece of work by two of Cumbria’s emerging artists is on now in THe Shed.

Steve Crook and Jenn Mattinson’s project uses photographs, sound effects and recorded interviews to create some fascinating insights into some of Cumbria’s residents.  For example, who knew that horse physiotherapy was practiced?  Now’s your time to find out!  Jenn as guest blogger tells us about their work:

Capturing Cumbria’s Voice  Social History in the making

We have been working on a project that explores the relationship between portrait photography, people’s stories and sound.

The lives of four folk from Cumbria was our focus. From a variety of social and economic backgrounds, Gordon, Ross, Dawn and Bob shared their passions, experiences, memories and personality through their willingness to be photographed and interviewed.  The result is a demonstration of how seemingly ordinary people living within our region are contributing to its unique social history.

The four selected profiles, that appear as a slideshow of images and sound, have been designed to capture interest from a wide ranging audience.  The people behind the profiles are very genuine, honest individuals at different points in their lives, expressing a real passion for their chosen subjects.  Themes include transport enthusiasm, aspirations to become a champion boxer, horse physiotherapy and a love of music.

In situ

Steve and I have married together a collection of artistic mediums – portrait photography, oral history, spoken word, poetry and sound effects – and hope that the result will reflect the ways in which different art forms can work together and complement each other to provide a slightly more unconventional way of showcasing and displaying artistic work.  This is our first artistic collaboration.

 

 

 

Here’s a little more about each artist:

Steve Crook’s photography belongs to a genre that combines portraiture and social documentation, inspired by the likes of Daniel Meadows, Tony Ray-Jones, Chris Killip and Larry Fink.  A great deal of his work is presented in the form of photostories or collections.  Recent projects include ‘Rare Breed’, a study of the members of Springfield Homing Club and ‘Jubilee, the way we were’, a series of portraits taken on the day of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  Steve is currently working with descendants of World War One soldiers to create a photographic link between those who fought and those they fought for.

Jenn Mattinson is a freelance Creative Practitioner, specialising in oral history, sound and media, theatre and reminiscence.  She is passionate about working creatively in local communities, with young people, adults, the older generation and in an intergenerational context.  Jenn is currently working with Morecambe Bay Partnership to facilitate and deliver a four year oral history project centred on the inshore fishing communities across Morecambe Bay.  She is also leading a series of creative arts sessions for older people in West Cumbria and for people living with dementia at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick.

See it in the Work in Progress area of THe Shed until the 23rd.

Claire

 

What is THe Shed? Click and find out.