Care & Control, November 2022
This solo show at Birley Gallery in Preston and the Women in Print residency were linked, an invitation from from Tracy Hill, artist, studio holder at Birley Artists’ Studios, Co-director of ArtLab and Senior Researcher at UCLan.
Corridor8 publish written responses to events across the North West. They commissioned Julia Johnson’s response to the exhibition, which can be viewed on Corridor8’s site.
Below, a particularly good pairing: ‘Tile-skirt’ (2022), terracotta, 4-cord mattress twine, coir, hessian, repurposed wire shopping basket, (wooden ‘French cleat’ fixing) 43cm w x 36cm d x 66cm h and ‘The Prop’ (2022), repurposed wooden washing line prop, nude bra strap, gimp pins, rubber dishcloth holders, 200 x 300 x 100cm.
The far room at Birley Gallery included three pop-up puppets. The central puppet below is Suburb Girl (2022), repurposed curtain from childhood home, screen-print (of self wearing single mattress pocket springs, photo: Rachel Raynes), synthetic materials repurposed from a trainer manufacturer, piping, cotton thread, wooden broomstick, 200 x 80cm diameter.
Jason Hird - Institute for Crazy Dancing - is a producer, director and performer based in Leeds. Jason visited the show and he and Emma played with the pop-up puppets, captured below on Luke Salaman’s Nikon. Puppet play continued back at Bricks St Anne’s with Jess Akerman (visual arts - Bristol) and Katherine Hall (voice and dance artist - Bristol).
Exhibition shots including the ‘Commemorative Platter’ series; ‘Campaign’; ‘Necklace for a Feeder’ with ‘Mit-Muff’.
