Photography: Stephen Quinn
life in East Lancashire through the years and it has been really important in developing the work. The library and museum in Blackburn are both excellent for research and I spend a lot of time in both buildings working with the curators and managers there. We have an incredible amount of expertise in the county and I rely on these institutions to help me uncover unexpected pieces of research and artefacts that inform my work,” explains Jamie, who also visited the British Film Institute (BFI) in London. “The film archive at the BFI is a resource I use whenever I’m starting a big commission. I’ve just spent two days in the capital watching hours of footage from the coronation, various jubilees and exploring footage and newsreels of Lancashire in the 1950s.” Having studied for a degree and masters at Chelsea, Jamie started to exhibit his work internationally while he was still a student. “I was selected for the New Contemporaries and had my first exhibition at the Tate while I was a second-year degree student. When I graduated, I continued exhibiting internationally,” adds Jamie who went on to work for the Saatchi Gallery Magazine
ROYAL COMMISSION
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Lancashire-born artist, whose work features in international collections, has been commissioned to create a new art installation to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Jamie Holman will record the memories of 70 people who have all lived throughout
the Queen’s 70-year reign. This poetic soundscape will tell the story of our diverse Lancastrian communities and will be accompanied by seven large tapestries, each depicting 10 years of the monarch’s service to her people and the individuals who best remember her lifetime of service. Speaking about the commission, Jamie, who studied Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, says: “It’s exciting, but very daunting in terms of the weight of expectation and the complexity of communicating 70 years of service and representing 70 years of social history. These are always the best types of commission, the ones that make you excited but also nervous.” When he started his initial research for the work, Jamie turned to the Talbot archive – a photographic press archive held by Blackburn College and Blackburn Library: “This archive of photographs captures both royal visits and day to day
for 10 years, writing about art in London and across the UK. In 2016 he returned to his roots, becoming involved in the emerging arts in East Lancashire and working on the first National Festival of Making, of which he is now a director. Jamie also works with Blackburn College and has a studio where he works in collaboration with curator Alex Zawadzki as Uncultured Creatives, delivering complex works on a regional, national and international basis. “Recently we delivered a large-scale
Photography: Richard Tymon
Jan Woolley meets Jamie Holman, who has been commissioned to produce a unique piece of art to celebrate an extraordinary moment in our history
