Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures

Abstract

The enduring materiality of our former industrial landscapes are rich with stories to tell, and when visible, can help recall and prompt story, helping forge future identities. What if the stone, brick and metal of this history was bulldozed from the landscape? Would the loss of this physical legacy diminish the voices of unsung heroes or hidden communities? How can we best leave tangible clues or signposts within the landscape, that enable a new incoming generation to become faithful custodians of these inherited stories? Stories of working people that fashioned much of our built environment. Propellors of the City and the Bradford Pit Memorial answer some of these questions, being projects that capture an image of people in their space. Both artworks involved an extensive process of encapsulating image and photography in glass, allowing complex layers of meaning to be explored. Propellors of the City holds a static image within a moving sculpture – allowing another layer of interaction. The research is practice led, which leads to the creation of tangible artefacts within the public realm, that capture a collective voice, with a focus on enabling storytelling, through making memories visible through public art, and digital archive. The paper aims to highlight how through recalling the past, we contribute to our future through greater connection and ownership of location. The recollection of past activity and events, is prompted by objects that inspire new emerging communities to tell the story of the place they now find themselves.