Blue is the Colour of Memory

Blue is the Colour of Memory

This exhibition shared stories from residents of the local area around Nuneaton library about their memories and connections to places.

I made large scale clear glass ambrotype portraits at the library using an outsize Victorian studio camera with a range of people who came forward to talk about their experiences of places and things in the local area. The historic camera became a time-travelling vehicle which allowed people to talk about their histories and memories.

The portraits are made with the historic wet plate collodion photographic process from 1851 and printed onto backed cotton banners as cyanotype blue-prints, a process from 1842.  Blue is a colour which evokes a sense of memory and the historic processes used references the past.

The banners were co-produced through a series of group and individual workshops with the people who are represented and put together with the support of local textile arts group In Stitches. The exhibition aimed to offer a sense of what the town and community can be in the future through an understanding of its history.

With thanks to everyone who came forward to support this project

This project was a partnership between Compton Verney, Coventry Biennial and Warwickshire Libraries, aimed at developing new opportunities for artists and communities in Warwickshire and the West Midlands through a 6-month artist residency from April - October 2023.