Footnotes, 2021Printed vinyl installed at The Riding Shopping Centre, Wakefield
Made in collaboration with local children local to the city, the artwork remaps the urban landscape present in the Northern town and presents an alternative route to see Wakefield. Translated from drawings and reimagined versions of the city, ‘navigating’ tools created by those part of this collective exchange were used to pick out details, colour and shapes in the ridings shopping centre and nearby environments. The artist worked alongside locals as part of ‘Signposts’ series of workshops over two days in November 2021 which was comissioned and supported by The Art House and Artwalk Wakefield. The collection of paper-based responses were then scanned and collaged digitally into a shared geography, visible in the installed vinyl mural which could then be visited by those moving through Wakefield.
Working with film maker Anastasia Aleekseeva, we played with the colour green considering the lack of natural spaces in the city but the desire of local people seeking it. This arose from discussions with families as well as recurring motifs of flowers, outdoor scenes and the references of the limited green spaces within the drawing sessions. The film recordings are still in the process of being edited and will be displayed in The Ridings Shopping centre at the next Artwalk event.
Considering the ‘green screen’ these green recordings made way for the potential use of this techonology, as a way to remap these drawings into objects of motion.
The green ‘viewfinders’ and ‘navigating tools’ also gave a more sculptural and performative entry point for children who enjoyed making in a more physical way with less expectation of physically producing material but actually existing within and around it.
Workshop artist Lucie MacGregor with a Wakefield resident and her family.