Image courtesy of the artist.
New Shrines (Hope)
(2024)
[Participatory artwork. Embossing foil, waxed string]
To create this artwork, I invited people living in, working in, and visiting Bishop Auckland to emboss pieces of gold foil with images and words representing what they hoped for – for themselves – their loved ones – and for Bishop Auckland. Brought together in this installation, these gold “amulets” form a kind of non-denominational shrine and a portrait of a community through its hopes.
New Shrines (Hope) celebrates County Durham’s heritage as a place steeped in faith and spirituality; home to pilgrimage routes and significant ecclesiastical and spiritual spaces and monuments. Architecture and artefacts at key sites along the newly created pilgrimage route, The Way of Life, provided inspiration for the project, including St Mary’s church in Gainford, Escomb Saxon church, and the Faith Museum. Decorative elements of the churches’ internal and external architecture and various religious artefacts informed the design of templates for people to use when making their own amulets.
New Shrines (Hope) was realised with a Cultivate Commissions grant and generous support from The Auckland Project. After its initial presentation at Auckland Tower the artwork will be moved to a permanent site at Binchester Roman Fort in 2025 where people will be able to continue to add emblems of their hopes, dreams, and aspirations to the artwork.
About the Cultivate Commissions:
Cultivate Commissions are designed to support creative practitioners to work with and alongside communities in County Durham to increase participation in cultural activity that has a positive impact on community identity and a pride of place.
Cultivate Commissions are part of Into the Light, a transformative programme that will drive long-lasting growth in County Durham through creative collaboration. Over the next three years, it will cultivate talent, widen access to creative education, enhance skills, and break down barriers in the creative industries.
[Participatory artwork. Embossing foil, waxed string]
To create this artwork, I invited people living in, working in, and visiting Bishop Auckland to emboss pieces of gold foil with images and words representing what they hoped for – for themselves – their loved ones – and for Bishop Auckland. Brought together in this installation, these gold “amulets” form a kind of non-denominational shrine and a portrait of a community through its hopes.
New Shrines (Hope) celebrates County Durham’s heritage as a place steeped in faith and spirituality; home to pilgrimage routes and significant ecclesiastical and spiritual spaces and monuments. Architecture and artefacts at key sites along the newly created pilgrimage route, The Way of Life, provided inspiration for the project, including St Mary’s church in Gainford, Escomb Saxon church, and the Faith Museum. Decorative elements of the churches’ internal and external architecture and various religious artefacts informed the design of templates for people to use when making their own amulets.
New Shrines (Hope) was realised with a Cultivate Commissions grant and generous support from The Auckland Project. After its initial presentation at Auckland Tower the artwork will be moved to a permanent site at Binchester Roman Fort in 2025 where people will be able to continue to add emblems of their hopes, dreams, and aspirations to the artwork.
About the Cultivate Commissions:
Cultivate Commissions are designed to support creative practitioners to work with and alongside communities in County Durham to increase participation in cultural activity that has a positive impact on community identity and a pride of place.
Cultivate Commissions are part of Into the Light, a transformative programme that will drive long-lasting growth in County Durham through creative collaboration. Over the next three years, it will cultivate talent, widen access to creative education, enhance skills, and break down barriers in the creative industries.