Issue01 The Influence Issue
CURATED BY Faye Adams COVER IMAGE BY Alex Gallagher alexandragallagherart.com
Blackburn is Open is a creative regeneration scheme funded by Arts Council England and backed by Blackburn with Darwen Council. Entrepreneur and designer Wayne Hemingway MBE is the creative director. Its ethos is the town’s motto, Arte et Labore, which translates as ‘by art and by labour’ or ‘by skill and hard work’. Blackburn has a
CONTIBUTORS Faye Adams Catherine Caton Sophie Skellern Vinai Solanki
PHOTOGRAPHY Richard Tymon / Derren Poole / Catherine Caton
proud history of art, industry and innovation. In recognition of this, Blackburn is Open aims to bring together and support a creative community in the heart of the town centre. It also works to make under-utilised spaces and empty shops available to artists and entrepreneurs, support new businesses and celebrate the creative industries.
CONTACT Blackburn is Open, 65 King William Street, Blackburn, BB1 7HU
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DESIGN SPONSORED BY Source Creative sourcecreative.co.uk
01254 667130 Blackburnisopen.co.uk ideas@blackburnisopen.co.uk blackburnisopen
INSIDE Issue01 4/ Woven in Tradition Weave streetwear shop founded in Blackburn
22/ Wonder Web Artist Alexandra Gallagher’s ‘windows’ on the world
8/ Well Versed The poetry of Melissa LeeHoughton
26/ Dead Good The rise in popularity of taxidermy
10/ A Good Vintage Pop-up bar vintage bar: The Apothecary Pop-Up Bar and Cocktail Emporium
29/ Party Like it’s 1885 Vinai Solanki, curator of history at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, is Lancashire’s own Marty McFly
12/ Carving Out a Reputation BS&HW speaks to ceramicist Halima Cassell 14/ Art imitating life A beginner’s guide to life drawing 16/ A Room of One’s Own Making a space for conversation on urban design 18/ Take Note Sky Valley Mistress reveals the five favourite albums that inspired their Rock N Roll sound
31/ Life Through a Lens Photography students at Blackburn College and UCBC share their inspirations. 37/ A Very Social Media Instagramer Catherine Caton reveals her love for the app 39/ My Influences Wayne Hemingway MBE
The Influence Issue By Skill and Hard Work (BS&HW) is a quarterly publication celebrating the creative talents of people who live, work or play in Blackburn. It has been kindly sponsored by Source Creative who have designed the
publication and also created an awesome font especially for us. BS&HW celebrates the town and the commitment to skill and hard work of its creative community. In this first issue we touch on what or who inspires them.
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IN TRADITION
An appreciation for wellcrafted clothing and a passion for good design is the very fabric of Weave in Blackburn
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Sam Houghton and Jack Godden met at university in Manchester where the idea for their streetwear brand, Krosl, was born. The pair hit it off over a shared appreciation of good design, well-crafted clothing and a passion for Hip Hop. After their degrees, Sam in graphic design and Jack in textile design and embroidery, they then decided to concentrate on Krosl. The brand, which includes t-shirts and hoodies, is described by the pair as having a street element with a contemporary twist. And after a successful launch online they decided to take the next step and open up their own shop. The Blackburn town centre shop stocks the full range of Krosl clothing along with other independent labels, screen prints, photography, art materials and retro toys. It also offers a screen printing service and the equipment is available for hire.
BS&HW caught up with Sam as he was putting the finishing touches to some new designs. BS&HW / Tell us what designs you have planned for Summer? SH / The next set of designs are inspired by Henri Matisse’s paper cut outs. Anyone who knows Matisse’s work will be familiar with his love of colour, pattern and images with an impact. We’ve also been working on some designs based on landscapes for Autumn. They’ll incorporate lots of bold typography and also collage. BS&HW / Why the name Weave? We chose Weave in reference to the days of the cotton industry when Blackburn was famous for being a weaving town. Also our idea was that through using art and design we hoped to sort of bring or ‘weave’ different parts of the community together at the various events we run for Blackburn is Open.
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BS&HW / You already had an online shop what made you want to open on the high street as well? SH / I always wanted to have a shop with an in-store studio as well: it was a bit of a dream really. I’ve worked in retail before and was always interested in the buying side of things. Now I’m surrounded all day by stuff that I like and find inspiring, things that I have chosen to feature in the shop. BS&HW / You’ve got quite a strong vision for the shop and the brands that you stock. With so much out there how do you choose? SH / We look for fresh and unique brands with a strong design element. We’ve just got Nicce London in after I saw one of my friends wearing it and MANNA which is actually designed by a guy I went to college with. I’d eventually like to branch out and sell contemporary menswear.
Hopeless Youth: Stag T-shirt, Krosl: K2 T-shirt
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Manna: Acid 5 Panel Navy cap, Real Acid Navy T-shirt Manna: Diamonds and Decks hoodie, NICCE: MMXIII T-shirt All available online at weavestore.co.uk 7
Well versed
Melissa Lee-Houghton lives in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her first and second poetry collections A Body Made of You and Beautiful Girls are both published by Penned in the Margins. Her second collection, Beautiful Girls was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Her work has been published broadly in journals and magazines and has contributed to a number of anthologies including ‘Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot,’ ‘Glitter is Gender’ and ‘Heavenly Bodies.’ In 2012 she won The New Writer poetry collection competition. She is currently working on a collection of short stories and two novels.
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SUNDOWN BY THE ABATTOIR We are falling down; it’s summer; we are falling through time worn thin. Summer is wasted, is pale and screwed up in the clouds above our childhood town and our dizzy heads. Nobody trusts a blue sky. I am too good to be true and you are too good to be true. (Last night I dreamt I fell in love all over again and when he kissed me I woke with a start.) I feel there is nothing more intact than your mind. Mine is lost. Things up there are loose. I walked down by the abattoir with the kids – I said, kids, this is where they kill the cows and lambs and chop them into mince-meat. One didn’t believe me and the other didn’t care. The sun was sagging in the sky. We held hands to cross the roads. They’ve dismantled the phone box by the abattoir; the one I used to ring you on with 20p coins, when sometimes you just hung on the line and I’d hear you breathing and grip the receiver. Do you know how exquisite that sadness was? You would lie in bed, half asleep, drowning in it. I don’t know why I needed you, I never do. After you vanished, I worked at the abattoir one winter when I couldn’t afford bedclothes or hot food. The girls there nearly skinned me alive. I got free and the smell and the colour of raw meat still drains me. The sun’s going down now darling. There’s a rare pink sky;
I have just read your email about the Indian boy you got drunk, about buying Scandinavian furniture and how you’d like to be there for me. I have your number programmed into my phone just in case anything bad happens. The sun is going down slow, the sky looks beaten. I need you to know, simply your being alive consoles me.
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A GOOD VINTAGE Vintage connoisseur, Mark Andrews, is the chap behind the ‘Apothecary Pop-Up Bar and Cocktail Emporium’
Back in the day an apothecary would create an elixir or ‘cure-all’ to treat their customers’ various ailments after carefully listening to their complaints or worries. And while a visit to the vintage inspired Apothecary Pop-Up Bar and Cocktail Emporium won’t necessarily get rid of that wart on your big toe or fix that twinge in your back it will guarantee you a blummin’ good cocktail possibly one that changes colour, omits impressive looking smoke or if you’re lucky both at the same time. The pop-up bar for hire is the brain child of entrepreneur Mark Andrews and is loosely based around the idea of recreating the feel of an old apothecary shop. “I’ve a passion for all things relating to the Victorian era and I love western films in particular I’m intrigued by the medicine man or apothecary who would
often appear somewhere selling ‘snake oil’ and tonics from a cart or stall. “We’ve adapted the idea and made it purely pleasure based. I wanted it to end up somewhere between a Wild West saloon and somewhere you could imagine in a Charles Dickens book.” After a spell organising club nights and music events in Leeds and London as well as opening a bar and music venue in Camden, Mark recently returned to his native Lancashire. But he’s not taken the opportunity to slow down. He now has two pop-up bars travelling around to various events and he is embarking on setting up a Carnival of Curiosities with its very first outing at Blackburn Heritage Festival. Influenced by circus-style side shows and freak shows it will take place in a circus style tent with
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traders selling anything from antiques to taxidermy, street food vendors, entertainers and much more. And as to why the past inspires Mark himself to such an extent? “Things seem to have been done properly back then, with care, and they lasted a long time. “These days everything seems mass produced, with minimum time and expense invested and I think that is a real shame. “Perhaps that is why the vintage revival is becoming so popular. People want that attention to detail to come back into business and the things they buy and use.” The Carnival of Curiosities will form the centre piece of Blackburn Heritage Festival on the September 13-14, blackburnheritage.com. Or visit theapothecarybar.co.uk or acarnivalofcuriosities.com
Faeryland G & Tea
The Sloe & Steady
The Faeryland G & Tea is quite unique as we use a special blend of tea sourced from a supplier in the Lake District. The addition of fresh mint and a subtle hint of vanilla really compliment the floral notes of the tea and produces a very unique flavour.
The Sloe & Steady is The Apothecary’s twist on a classic Mojito. A carefully crafted cocktail, very refreshing with a bit of a kick. We wanted to combine some classic British flavours with a couple of unexpected ones. And it worked really well.
ING RED IENT S
IN GR ED IEN TS
50ml gin 12.5ml lemon 12.5 vanilla gomme 12.5 elderflower cordial 2 drops vanilla extract 6-8 mint leaves 1tsp Faeryland (or Camomile & Calendula, Earl Grey blend) Tea
50ml sloe gin 20ml lemon juice 20ml gomme 2 drops vanilla extract 10ml Antica Formula Dash of ginger beer 8-10 mint leaves
M ET H OD
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
METHOD
1 Wet shake all ingredients 2 Double strain neat into a Martini glass 3 Float a mint leaf and serve
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Mix first 5 ingredients into tall glass Add mint leaves Fill glass with crushed ice Top with ginger beer to 1cm below the rim Mix thoroughly with bar spoon Top with crushed ice Garnish with a mint sprig
Working in mental health was unusually good training for entering the art world according to rising star, Halima Cassell
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The Blackburn based artist, Halima Cassell, is welcoming, wonderfully warm and unbelievably generous with her time as she chats away despite a commission for a New York art gallery beckoning.
She speaks fondly of the jobs that saw her through university; providing respite care for children with learning difficulties and supporting people with mental illness in the community.
Hers is a star definitely on the rise with her richly patterned sculptures and their strong use of geometric forms; the result of her love of architecture, fascination with maths and studies of natural forms.
“People would come from all different backgrounds,” she says. “Those that had good jobs, such as solicitors, and others that had nothing but they were all in the same boat.
Last year she was asked to exhibit at a string of prestigious venues including the highly prized exhibition space at Canary Wharf, the Saatchi gallery, and internationally in Brussels and Chicago. The list of other notable places that her work is shown at includes the V & A, the Hepworth and Birmingham Museum. Yet the former mental health worker continues to give her time to mental health charities when she can, has taught in a secure hospital and chooses to base herself in a community arts space.
“It taught me to look at everyone the same way and strangely helped me in the art world: it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a mansion or three studios to work from, it’s how hard you work and what you can achieve that matters.” Halima herself certainly hadn’t benefitted from the financial advantages enjoyed by some artists having moved out just a few years ago from a one bedroomed flat-cum-studio. She has enjoyed a slow and steady rise to prominence, resisting suggestions to move down to London in order to succeed, deciding instead to get her head down and concentrate on her own work. But it is her dedication to learn everything she can about her craft (she spent several months in the male
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dominated environment of an Italian workshop learning how to sculpt marble) that sets her apart. She also refuses to rest on her laurels, whether it’s working with new materials - such as her recent experimentation with concrete - or in mastering new techniques. Her insistence on trying out sculpting with a chainsaw also had partner Martin biting his nails! She takes her current success in her stride and says seeing her work in the impressive surroundings of Canary Wharf was certainly a high point but also an affirmation that dedication pays off. Notably the request to show came from someone who’d seen her work ten years ago and kept a watchful eye on her work. She says: “It was overwhelming but also helped put things into perspective: that the things that you did all those years ago are important even if they didn’t seem that at the time and that eventually as an artist everything you do matters.” halimacassell .com
TOP TIPS Creative tips from Sophie Skellern, the creative mind behind Drink and Draw I recently started an alternative drawing class where anyone can come along and have a bit of fun drawing.
distant singsong. EMBRACE IT!) Put the pencil to the paper, slowly, that’s it! Hooray for completing the hardest part of any drawing – getting going!
2 / PICKING A SUBJECT? Bodies.
Our models are burlesque dancers, fire eaters or sportsmen and women and we don’t take ourselves too seriously - we throw in loads of silly poses, some great music, competitions and prizes.
Love em’. Aren’t they good! Especially when they’re enjoying themselves! That’s why picking a great model doing something fun makes for the best drawings. Ones that are packed full of life and energy! When I was in my life drawing classes, I used to get so bored drawing the same lady lying down for three hours. Now when I draw, it’s performers, dancers and anyone with a bit of ‘life’ to them! It’s great trying to capture movement and energy. It can be sexy, cheeky and most definitely fun. Try not to care too much if it looks a bit wobbly! Just try again on the next pose.
Here’s a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way to help you sass up your strokes, and if you fancy coming along to Drink & Draw we’d love to see you there.
1 / PICK UP THAT PENCIL! Whether
it’s with your hand/foot/mouth/ear I DON’T CARE. Clutch that sketchbook, and wrench open the pages. (Sometimes white light emerges from the pages and you may hear
Facebook at /drinkanddrawblackburn
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3 / DRAW WHAT YOU ACTUALLY
with your pencil and make sure you are happy that it looks the right size etc
SEE, NOT WHAT YOU PRESUME THAT YOU CAN SEE! We have been looking at human bodies our whole lives so we all think we know what goes where, but in actual fact, we haven’t got a clue. When you start off life drawing for the first few times, that line probably doesn’t go where you think it goes. Yes, we know the arm goes somewhere around there, but really look closely at your model to see just how they fit together. What angle is the jaw at? How big is their leg compared to their stomach?
/ Last we just shade in some detail. Leave the bits where the light hits white, and then go from lighter strokes to darker ones where there’s some shadow. / Practice a few more times and then hey presto! You’ll be a pro in no time. Now just to master the rest of the body eh ;)
5 / DON’T BE SO SELF-CRITICAL Just remember, no one is going to be Rembrandt after a couple of goes sketching. The more you draw, the better you will get and the more it will make sense. The more fun you have doing it, the better your road to Rembrandt greatness will be! Wehey!
4 / A FEW TIPS!
Here’s a few dead easy ways to get some of those facial features on your model. I always struggle with the face but I think most of us have one so they’re fairly important!
6 / COME ALONG TO DRINK &
DRAW and give it a go. Only this time, instead of drawing that picture of a horse you found on Google images, or that fruit bowl, you can draw a sequin clad burlesque dancer or an amazing acrobat.
/ Just draw a basic outline. It can be scribbly and a bit messy, don’t worry - just getting the right sort of shape. / Next, you need to just define that shape a little more. Push a bit harder
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Making room for a conversation about urban space
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World-class British architect, Sir Terry Farrell, has proposed that every town and city should have an Urban Room – a space in which local people can learn about the built environment. The idea was one of the recommendations to come from the Farrell Review headed by Sir Terry to look at the issues that surround the built environment and what challenges and opportunities architects will face in the future. The report stressed that the public should become more involved in debating what kind of places they wanted their towns to be and that more information should be made available on the importance of good design. “There are few things that are more important to us than the place we live in,” says Sir Terry, who is perhaps most famous for designing the MI6 building in London.
He also suggests that architecture, “should become a major public issue like health and food.” The urban room was just one of the ways that the Farrell Review said that people can become more aware of their environment and learn more about architecture and planning laws. This October Blackburn is due to become one of the first towns to follow Sir Terry’s lead when for six weeks, a pop up Urban Room will be based in the Blackburn is Open shop in Town Hall Square. Blackburn’s Urban Room will become a hotbed of debate over the six-week period about the future of planning in the town but also look at how it has changed and the historic buildings that are in the borough. It will host exhibitions, workshops, seminars and films and aim to discuss the past,
Visuals by University of Sheffield architecture students for the Live Works project with Blackburn is Open
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present and future of Blackburn town centre. Members of the panel who put the Farrell Review together will be invited, along with other leading lights in architecture, to discuss and debate the built environment in Blackburn. Kick starting Blackburn’s Urban Room pop up will be an interactive exhibition followed by an exhibition by local photographers Catherine Caton and Richard Tymon. The pair have documented some of Blackburn’s hidden architectural gems including the St John’s Centre (a former church) and popular Northern Soul venue, Tony’s Ballroom. Blackburn is Open’s Urban Room can be found at 63-65 King William Street, Blackburn BB1 7HU throughout October. See blackburnisopen.co.uk for times and dates of events. For more information on the Farrell Review farrellreview.co.uk
Sky Valley Mistress reveal the five albums that inspired their Rock ‘n’ Roll sound
Dubbed the best thing you’ve never heard, Sky Valley Mistress are a ball of rock ‘n’ roll fury from Blackburn. The female fronted four piece are currently enjoying a busy summer playing the festival circuit and even appeared at last year’s Download. Check out their hugely successful single ‘Dirty Blonde Blues’ or keep an ear out for the new EP ‘Rivals, Hounds & Rebel Sisters’.
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LED ZEPPELIN / Led Zeppelin II, Atlantic Records, 1969 Sky Valley Mistress / Jack White said, “I sort of don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Led Zeppelin”. So if you’re gonna play in a rock and roll band, it’s kind of an unwritten rule that you have to listen to Zeppelin. It was hard to pick our favourite album by them because, in all fairness, they don’t have a bad song. We went with Zep II because apart from having huge tracks on it like “Whole Lotta Love” and “Ramble On”, it includes our favourite song by them, “Bring It On Home”. It’s four incredible musicians playing together at the highest level. Our goal as a band is to become the 21st Century Led Zeppelin so that kind of says it all really. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE / Songs for the Deaf, Interscope, 2002 Maxwell Harvey William Newsome III (Drums) / This was the first record that really made me appreciate the art of ‘the album’ and how a band doesn’t just write 10 songs and shove them together but orders them so you listen to the record how they wanted you to hear it. The idea here is that it takes you on a drive from a city in California, right out to the desert away from any civilisation with different radio stations playing in between songs to help you understand where you are... or where you’re not. This was the first record I listened to all the way through and it was the start of a musical journey for me.
It’s hard to pick a standout track but if I had to it’s ‘No One Knows’. It was the first song I ever played on stage when I was 12 years old at Leeds Festival after my mum queued for 3 hours to get me up there. That was when I had the immediate realisation that this was what I wanted to do every day of my life. THE WHITE STRIPES / Elephant, XL, 2003 Russell (Bass) / Elephant is one of the only albums to have a huge impact on the way I look at music and how I play. This album really got me into the blues and certain blues artists such as Son House. To me, Elephant is one of those albums that suits any mood; it goes from punk, with tracks such as ‘Hypnotize’ to country ballads, ‘I Want To Be The Boy’ and ‘You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket’. The whole album has a simplistic vibe to it which affected the way I approach my playing. Meg’s uncomplicated beats and Jack’s comprehensible riffs come together to make a HUGE sound which has had a massive effect on modern day blues rock. BAND OF SKULLS / Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, Shangri-La, 2009 Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies - (Vocals) / The main reason I chose this album was because Band of Skulls were the first band I ever saw at a festival. It was a killer set and I walked away knowing that I wanted to spend every night on stage playing my
music. ‘Light of the Morning’ is a stand out track for me because it has such a big sound and was the song they opened their set with. What I really love about the whole album are the harmonies between Russell and Emma. Their voices work so well together which makes me slightly resent the rest of my band for not being able to harmonise with me, just kidding (kind of). The album made me want to listen to more bands that use harmony and had female members. From this, I was introduced to Warpaint, whose four part choruses and harmonies give me goosebumps. FOO FIGHTERS / Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, Roswell, 2007 Squire (Guitar) / This was one of the first albums I bought and was one of the first albums that I listened to all the way through and loved every single song on it. This then made me want to see them live and so, they were the first band I went to see at a concert. Watching their set, I realised then, that playing guitar in a band was the one and only and only thing I wanted to do for a living. My favourite track on this album has to be “Home”. They have the more well known tracks such as “The Pretender” and “Long Road to Ruin” but this song is the stand out one for me. When you hear it for the first time it makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It has influenced my song writing as I learned to appreciate both the heavy as well as the acoustic songs.
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Blackburn’s Northern Soul All Nighter
AUGUST
Saturday, August 23 BLACKBURN BEAT FESTIVAL Dodgy, Chris Scott, The Retrosettes and Ella Shaw plus craft workshops, cookery demonstrations, craft ale tent and much more. Town Hall Square, 11am–6pm. Free.
SEPTEMBER
Thursday, September 4 FIRST THURSDAY Pre-Blackburn Festival (September 6) party. Various venues, Blackburn Town Centre. 4pm–late. Saturday, September 6 BLACKBURN FESTIVAL A free family festival. Toploader, Northern Jazz Orchestra, Sky Valley Mistress, The Slydes, Cinema, World Food, Art, Craft and much more. Witton Country Park, Midday–late. Thursday, September 11 DRINK AND DRAW Alternative life drawing session. Venue tbc, 7–10.30pm. £4 Saturday, September 13_ Sunday, September 14 BLACKBURN HERITAGE FESTIVAL Carnival of Curiosities, fairground with traditional, wooden helter skelter and carousel, outdoor market, clog dancing displays, live music and vintage vehicles.
Drink and Draw
Saturday, September 27 BLACKBURN’S NORTHERN SOUL ALL NIGHTER A night dedicated to Northern Soul. Pop up restaurants, exhibition openings, DJs, fashion and more. Variety of venues Blackburn Town Centre.
Eve
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Wayne Hemingway MBE and Christine Cort, MD of MIF Throughout October URBAN ROOM BLACKBURN
OCTOBER
Six week exploration of Blackburn’s built environment and public spaces. Exhibitions, workshops, debates and the launch of Blackburn’s Urban Room. Blackburn is Open, 65 King William Street. Thursday, October 2 FIRST THURSDAY Screening of ‘High on Hope’ a film about underground rave culture in Lancashire in the late 80s followed by a Q & A with director Piers Sanderson. Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, 6–9pm. Thursday, October 9 DRINK AND DRAW Alternative life drawing session. Run away with the circus with model Kitty Kaleido from Cirque du Manc. St Johns Centre, 7–10.30pm. £4 Saturday, October 25 THE BIG DRAW Drawing the Victorians – Victorian inspired life drawing for all the family at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery. Wednesday, October 29 – Friday, October 31 Go large for this family drawing activity on a BIG scale inspired by Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery’s own Victorian Gallery. Thursday, November 6 FIRST THURSDAY
Blackburn Heritage Festival
In Conversation with Christine Cort, MD of Manchester International Festival. Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, 6–8pm.
ents
Thursday, November 13 DRINK & DRAW Alternative life drawing session. Venue tbc, 7–10.30pm. £4 21
NOVEMBER
WONDER WEB 22
Artist Alexandra Gallagher’s ‘windows’ on the world
If the internet was an actual place what would it look like? Come to think of it don’t answer that. A braver lady than us, artist Alexandra Gallagher, has attempted to open that particular can of web-happy worms through her surreal and other worldly collages. The results, a sort of pastel tinted mixture of sixties sci-fi meets Heat magazine, are sometimes beautiful, vaguely disturbing but ultimately entrancing – kind of like the internet itself. The landscapes, as 34 year-old Alexandra refers to them, came out of a project she was set on the painting degree she is studying for. Her homework was to depict what she saw from the window of her Blackburn home.
“I really didn’t want to just follow the brief, I wanted to do something different,” she says. “So I thought about it and realised lots of people live their whole lives through the internet, that’s their window to the world. “I began thinking if we could see the internet what would it actually look like? “On the internet people can be anything they want to be, they can be any age, any gender; nothing’s seen. It’s all makebelieve.” The internet has also played a big part in helping Alexandra get her work seen and means she has been able to contact galleries internationally as well as closer to home. She currently has work on show at the Happenstance Gallery in East London in a show called ‘Salon De Street Art’ in which she has been chosen by visitors as the show’s ‘best artist’.
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It was also online that she saw the Showdown competition run by art magazine Saatchi Art, in which she entered her artwork Owl and came second. As a result she saw her work exhibited in the Saatchi Gallery for a year before being sold. She says the prestigious accolade brought her to a whole new audience. “It all changed after that. People began talking about my work and wanting to see it. They started seeking me out and I’ve just gotten busier and busier.”
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See more of Alexandra’s work online at www.alexandragallagherart.com Alex is behind the Papergirl community street art project for Blackburn is Open. Papergirl, which takes place around the world, sees artwork submitted by the creative community distributed by bike to random members of the public. To take part visit www.papergirlblackburn.wix.com/papergirl
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Dead
Good From the Victorians’ attempts at ‘preserving’ wildlife to more modern artistic interpretations, taxidermy is far from dead.
Bowdler’s Beetles 26
A resurgence of interest in taxidermy in recent times has seen museums dusting off display cases and rethinking how to interpret their own collections, which at one time had become deeply unfashionable. Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, which has a large selection of taxidermy, is currently showing off the Bowdler’s Beetles as they are known; a collection of beetles from around the world donated in 1914 by businessman Arthur Bowdler. Bowdler, a local manufacturing chemist, was a benefactor of the museum and who took the role fairly seriously judging by his regular letters of instruction to curators. His missives include thoughts on how the museum should be run even down to where to position the suit of armour.
Stuffing animals and collecting them was at the height of its popularity in the Victorian age when for the first time a significant number of people, namely the emerging middle classes, had money to throw around and some leisure time in which to do it. The collection contains almost 3,000 specimens, with a huge variation in colour and size as well as a range of impressive camouflage techniques to prevent them from being eaten. But disguises for these critters don’t come in the form of comedy beards and dark glasses, they were much more cunning with off putting solutions such as imitating the poo of the predators that intended to eat them. The popularity of taxidermy has its roots in the Victorians’ seemingly endless thirst for
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knowledge particularly the interest in all things great and small. “They loved wildlife but they’d not got David Attenborough,” says Stephen Irwin Education Officer at the museum. “They couldn’t just sit down in front of a telly and watch a programme about it because TV hadn’t been invented. So what they did was go out, slay some unfortunate creature, stuff it and people could come and look at it. Sadly for the world’s wildlife at the time, they got very good at it and the museum has some really good examples.” Even today the collection is a hugely valuable resource for naturalists especially entomologists particularly as it contains several species now extinct.
However, preserving animals or insects as they were in life is certainly not the aim of Blackburn taxidermist Nicola Hebson.
The 24 year-old gives her creations anthropomorphic or human qualities and her work is closer to art than preservation.
Nicola is among what could be called the ‘new wave’ of taxidermists who have discovered the traditional craft and put their own interpretation on it.
The committed vegan uses road kill or pets that have died naturally.
The self- taught taxidermist runs a taxidermy inspired jewellery business, Dead Good Jewellery, and also offers workshops in the craft for beginners.
She is inspired by the surrealist animals depicted by artist Max Ernst and Walter Potter, the Victoria taxidermist who created entire scenes using stuffed animals mimicking humans.
His works include a village school populated by rabbits as the students, a cricket match played by guinea pigs and kittens at a tea party. “I don’t really like traditional taxidermy”, says Nicola. “I think it’s macabre people going out hunting these creatures. “My work doesn’t try to recreate how the animals are naturally. I just want to create something that’s beautiful or funny in a weird way even controversial as long as it creates a response and gets people thinking.”
Nicola Hebson, Dead Good Jewellery
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Vinai Solanki, curator of history at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, is Lancashire’s own Marty McFly
The Clog. Symbolic in towns like Blackburn as the footwear of the working class. It was the shoe of the people. At the crack of dawn the sound of thousands of workers with wooden shoes trudging through the cobbled streets to the mills would echo around the town like machine gun fire. The typical Lancashire clog is different to a Dutch clog in that it only has a wooden base whilst the Dutch version is a complete wooden shoe. Clogs were used for all occasions and even became synonymous with dancing and fighting. It is believed clog dancing began in the mills with workers tapping their feet to the rhythm of looms. Clog fighting, which involved participants undressing to nothing but their underwear and clogs and continually kicking each other’s shins, was a little more violent. How did it actually feel to wear clogs though? I decided to do a historical road test and try some out for myself. I assumed wearing clogs would be like wearing a pair of ski boots, clunky and difficult to walk in.
The Temperance movement aimed to stop people drinking alcohol. It is worth remembering that this was during a time of heavy industry when the working class man (and woman) would be at work before dawn and would come home after dark. With such a long and extremely tiring day many men would head to the pub to relax.
I can confirm that I was completely wrong. They were really comfortable. Noisy, and I wouldn’t be keen to wear them everywhere, but if you need to heard and not seen, these are the choice for you. Whilst walking around town I wanted to try and experience more local history first hand, but without my own DeLorean to take me to 1885 it seemed a bit difficult. It was then the thought of going for a drink occurred to me. The thought came to me whilst walking past Lees Hall, the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Lewis’ Temperance mission.
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And for those part of the temperance movement what were the options? The answer is a temperance bar. These bars, while not as popular as pubs, would serve a wide range of herbal beers and soft drinks such as dandelion and burdock or sarsaparilla. Sarsaparilla is a herb beer which contains no alcohol and I managed to find some in the market. So whilst wearing my clogs, I ordered a glass. Having heard stories of it being not particularly nice I found it to be a very enjoyable drink. So if you’re ever thinking of going ‘Back to the Future’, you don’t have to travel as far as you might think.
Photography students from Blackburn College and UCBC share their inspirations.
Emily French I love fashion especially Dior’s ‘New Look’ and the styling of the 1940s and 50s. I have found that this style has influenced a lot of my garments and my photography. It even influences my own style as I love the simple elegance and silhouette that is created through the garments.
The vintage style also has an influence other parts of my life especially on the styling of my cake company, EBella that I run with my mum. It inspires everything we do from the font we use to how we display things.
ebella.creations@gmail.com
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Julia Rushton I am interested in people’s sense of ‘place’ and how they treat their immediate surroundings. This raises philosophical, sociological as well as environmental questions.
My photographic influences are; Henri Cartier Bresson whose simple but perfectly balanced composition draws the viewer into the scene, and Fay Godwin whose passionate belief that land was for everyone led her to explore remote areas.
I strongly believe that photographs should be their own artefacts. A printed image can be handled and shared. Its use gives it an individual patina as time goes on.
My artistic influences are wide ranging from the contemplative work of Mark Rothko to the raw, direct and unrefined works by Jean Debuffet.
www.tickhillerphotographic.co.uk
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Wayne Myers Photography gives me the opportunity to think like a child again, to be creative without fear or boundaries.
These pictures are from a project on minimalistic film posters.
www.waynemyersphotography.com
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Catherine Caton, of online vintage and design boutique, The Triple Triangle on her love affair with .
@suskandbanoo / First followed on her blog - love this girl and her hub. Witty writing and lovely imagery of the various homes they have lived in.
@lelalouhio / Lovely lady with an amazing home and adorable little girl. Very stylish images and never get bored seeing her photos.
@kateoliver / Kate is one of the most genuine people I’ve never met. Her feed is honest and filled with happiness and 3 very gorgeous boys. She is one amazing mama.
@thatnordicfeeling / My stylish and @boobearbean / Family and travels and a beautiful friend Rikke. I drool constantly over new business venture. This amazing lady has her wonderful home and amazing style. been busy and always love seeing her photos and chatting with her. @CatherineCaton thetripletriangle.co.uk 36
@littlebuckles / We discovered that although she lives with her most adorable family in France she is originally from down the road from where I live! So many lovely squares.
I first found the app Instagram around three years ago. My husband suggested it as a way to play around with filters to give the vintage effect to my photos and it also started as a way for me to store my pictures. Slowly I started gaining followers and I began following people back. And I then made connections with people; through things we had in common like our children, the way we decorated our homes or places we’d visited. I started spending more and more time on the app to the point where my husband joked he was the Instagram widow. I admit it became a serious obsession. But I now have an amazing circle of friends on Instagram and I would happily meet up with everyone single one of them. I have in fact met about a dozen or so in ‘real life’ and they were all just wonderful people and friends I will have for life. Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, are a little alien to someone like me who isn’t ‘with it’ or particularly good with words. And as a photographer and designer I’m a much more visual person.
Instagram suits me down to the ground because I can look at pretty pictures all day long. I also take a lot of inspiration; from DIY to places to visit, with lots of lovely home goodies in-between. The only downside to Instagram is the amount of time you can spend on it - it literally sucks you in. I’ve been known to lose hours on it and I have been up to the small hours conversing with groups of people. I’m very lucky to have the friends on it that I do; we have given gifts to one another, been there in the bad times with encouragement even supported each other’s businesses. If you wake in the middle of the night you will find friends half way across the world who are just waking up and starting their day. One lady I have become very good friends with, after she posted an image of candle in memory of the grandfather she had just lost. I connected immediately with her as I had just lost my grandmother. She lives in Copenhagen and we met up over there and in
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London. We now communicate by text or email and very rarely on Instagram. I also had an amazing experience when I struck up a connection with someone who then went on to try and set up a Kickstarter for a business producing chocolate for people with dairy intolerance and gluten intolerance. As a real sugar addict and knowing how bad it is I decided to make a donation. Sadly mine was the only donation but she said that random act of kindness gave her the confidence to put her all into it and I recently received (and devoured) a gorgeous box of chocolates that were practically guilt free. Instagram can be a truly amazing experience but just remember many people on it do own fabulous houses or lovely things but we all only show the stuff that we want to show and not the behind the piles of washing or the sink full of dirty pots and pans. Ultimately though for me it’s about genuine people and genuine friendships. So if you happen to be on IG pop over and say hi X
Tuesday, August 12, 7pm REEL BIG FISH Reel Big Fish was one of the legions of Southern California ska-punk bands to edge into the mainstream following the mid-’90s success of No Doubt and Sublime – with support from Magnus Puto and The Jellycats. £14.50 adv Friday, August 15 FNL! BLACKBURN Friday Night Live. FNL Free live music in Blackburn across five town centre venues. August Racing Glaciers (11pm) + guests (10pm) & DJ. 9pm Thursday, August 28 6pm DIG IT A night of live music for the under 20s showcasing the best new bands. £2.50
Friday, September 26, 7pm, FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND with support from Goodtime Boys and The Hero Complex. £15 adv Thursday, October 2, 8pm, ROBERT NEWMAN’S NEW THEORY OF EVOLUTION Rob describes the 150-year controversy in evolutionary theory and explores how the latest science demonstrates that DNA is not destiny. £12.50/£10 concs Saturday, October 4, 9pm QUADROPHENIA NIGHT WITH DANNY MAHON
Sunday, October 5, 2-10pm BLACKBURN BLUES, RHYTHM AND ROCK FESTIVAL Solid Entertainments presents 4th Annual Blackburn Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival. Stray plus more to be announced. £19 Early bird ticket Monday, November 24, 7pm PAUL HEATON AND JACQUI ABBOTT Following the release of “What Have We Become”, their first album since the multi-million selling days of The Beautiful South. £22.50
Big screen film show playing the movie throughout the night in the background. DJ Drew Stansall (Saxophonist from The Specials) playing the best in ska, two-tone, 60’s, soul and mod. Live music from Danny Mahon. £12 adv
WWW.KINGGEORGESHALL.COM
BOOKINGS: 0844 847 1664
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MYINFLUENCES / The large and growing mass of people who are born disadvantaged and who are hitting glass ceilings that are becoming made of thicker glass by the year. From job creation, to boosting skills, start- up opportunities to improvements in affordable housing, we have to seek out ways to start to level off the growing disparities and then to narrow the gap. / A group of people in Margate, the Dreamland Trust, who have fought and won a long battle to wrest some land away from a landowner who was about to turn part of the DNA of their town into an anonymous housing estate.
Wayne Hemingway MBE is an entrepreneur and designer who with wife Gerardine has an award winning social design partnership; HemingwayDesign. He is also the creative director of Blackburn is Open.
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/ Schmaltzy as it may sound, my wife and kids, a talented hard working bunch, with human values who all don’t settle for second best . / Politicians who mean it. Jack Straw, Alan Johnson, Tristran Hunt, Andy Burnham. / People who devote their whole life to a cause like Camila Batmanghelidjh and Shami Chakrabarti. / Those who work tirelessly to make a public institution remain brilliant, like Jude Kelly has at Southbank Centre. / Anyone in the public eye who uses their influence to engender positive change for example, Bill and Melinda Gates, Vivienne Westwood or Angelina Jolie.
AR T/CU LT U R E / MUSIC/EVENTS Blackburn town centre comes alive on the first Thursday of every month, with art, creative activities and entertainment across a range of venues. WHETHER YOU’RE AN ART HISTORIAN OR SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER STEPPED FOOT IN A GALLERY, FIRST THURSDAYS IS AN INCREDIBLE WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE CULTURAL WEALTH THAT THIS TOWN HAS TO OFFER.
Visit us at blackburnisopen co uk /blackburnisopen Follow us