An artist known for creating wearable sculpture for Lady Gaga and remembrance poppies from lambs heart tissue wants North West residents to share their WW1 stories and artefacts with him.
Internationally acclaimed London based artist Paddy Hartley will begin a residency at The Lowry from April 2017. Born in Dewsbury, Paddy Hartley is a trained ceramicist and will make WW1 archaeology artefacts based on some of the stories people share with him.
The unfired artefacts will be made from a trench of slurried clay placed in the middle of the gallery. The items Hartley creates will then be will returned into the trench to disintegrate during the residency – a metaphor for the passing of memory.
Paddy Hartley said;
“Much of my work is inspired by the stories that families of WW1 servicemen tell me. What would be great is if the people of Greater Manchester share their stories of WW1 ancestors and specifically, the personal objects, keepsakes and reminders of home that they kept with them.
“I’m interested in creating objects which reflect the nature of the environment the soldiers fought and lived in, and specifically, objects which the men used to make conditions more ‘homely’ for want of a better phrase.”
Paddy Hartley’s artistic practice investigates themes of memorialisation and remembrance. Once the artefacts have been made in clay, they will be dried and photographed before being re-introduced to the trench of slurried clay to allow their disintegration.
To share stories, contact Paddy Hartley on paddyhartley@mac.com.
