Artist's exhibition draws attention to sustainability issues in art world

A 40-year-old wooden boat has been given a new lease of life to draw attention to issues around sustainability in the art world.

Artist Jenny Steele has been working with local people in Barrow to transform the 1980s handmade hardwood vessel into a symbol for sustainability.

Using locally sourced natural and recycled materials, the group, who are aged from 12 up to their 70s, has been constructing a large and intricate woven structure on top of the craft, which Jenny bought from its hobbyist maker when he longer had space to store it. They have named it Charon, after the ferryman to the underworld in Greek mythology.

The remodelled ship will set sail for the first time on the large wildlife pond at Allotment Soup community growing space on Walney Island, which is operated by Art Gene, on Saturday 21 September 2024.

At around 2.5m high and 4m long, artist Jenny vowed to reinvigorate the mahogany dinghy, which was hand built in Lincolnshire at around the same time Jenny was born, with a new purpose.

Working together with members of the Women's Community Matters group, the local homeschooling community, and plot holders from Allotment Soup, Jenny has been weaving together thousands of strands of locally grown vegetation to create a canopy-style structure on top of the boat.

The materials, including common rush, mint, various grasses and willow, were handpicked from plots at Allotment Soup, guided by Art Gene's community gardener Bethan Pettitt.

Woven amongst the local flora are sustainably sourced textiles, found by the artist in charity shops, textile recycling ventures and saved from landfill.

As well as raising issues around sustainability, the project, which has been supported by Arts Council England and Coastal North Collective, is also about teaching new skills.

Throughout two weeks of workshops, which were held in polytunnels at the allotment site, Jenny shared her experience of two traditional crafts, weaving and passementerie. Passementerie is the little-known art of handcrafting trimmings such as tassels and fringes, to apply to furniture or clothing.

Eli, 12, from Walney Island, worked with Jenny to create the artwork. He said: "I enjoyed learning a new skill.

"It helped me to relax and helped me feel a sense of accomplishment after making things."

Rachael Barker, projects and communication manager, Art Gene, who also took part in the workshops, said: "It was great to get stuck into something that was quite attention-orientated, starting off easy with tassels and progressing to weaving with a loom, which was quite complex.

"I liked the repetitiveness of the weaving and focusing on one specific task. It was great to meet a few new faces too."

Jenny said: "With textiles being the third largest form of landfill, it has become increasingly important for me to use materials that are sustainable as possible. 

"Working as an artist, there is a large amount of waste and damaging carbon footprint when using fabrics, dyes, yarns and trimmings. 

"Most materials required for fabricating artworks are purchased brand new from suppliers, creating further negative impact via packaging and transportation.

"For this project, I have been using locally sourced plants that we have collected ourselves from Allotment Soup on Walney Island. The textiles that are being added into the weaving are mostly recycled, discarded or diverted from landfill."

Jenny, a Scottish artist who has been living in Manchester since 2011, has been working with heritage crafts including hand weaving, basket weaving and passementerie since 2020. Prior to that, her work was largely in drawing, painting and printmaking. 

Recent commissions include Textile City for Museum of Science and Industry (2022), The Joy of Union, MET, Preston City (2022), Our Library of Light, At The Library, Crosby (2019) and The Seafront, Art B&B (2019).

 You can view the boat on Saturday 21st September 2024 1-8pm as part of the Outdoor Allotment Soup exhibition. Allotment Soup is at 110 Mill Lane, Walney, Barrow-in-Furness LA14 3XX.The event is free of charge, but booking is essential. Please contact rachael.barker@art-gene.co.uk or call 01229 825085 to reserve a place.