EXHIBITION: ON CLOSER INSPECTION
“THE LAYERS OF HOWARTH”
On my initial visit to the Haworth Art Gallery, I was immediately drawn to the architectural features of the building's original heating system. The engraved metal plates embedded in the first-floor floorboards, along with the ground-floor metal grilles and exposed pipes, became the starting point for this body of work.
Subsequent visits deepened my investigation. I began by exploring archival plans held in the Haworth's onsite archive boxes.
My research expanded to the Lancashire Record Office, where I investigated the heating system installed by G.N. Haddon. Unfortunately, no detailed plans have survived - many were lost due to council policies that regularly "weed out" building records to manage storage capacity for future submissions.
My process evolved through a combination of collage, photography, and frottage, all carried out on-site. I began mapping the positions of all remaining heating grilles using the historic plans as a reference. I also created multiple frottage studies of the engraved plates, air grilles and air registers to introduce into the work.
The rich industrial history of the region, particularly the nearby mills that used the patented Turkey Red dyeing process informed the colour palette of the final works. Collage and layering on the smaller works is to suggest the layers of history at the Haworth. I chose the intaglio 'collagraph' print process to naturally allow texture to soften line and small etching plates to create a playful interaction.
