Private View - Friday 2nd September, 6-8pm
Landmark reflects on a year-long project by artists Christopher Jarratt and Emilie Taylor and a group of eleven people navigating their recovery or changes to their drug or alcohol use.
The exhibition, taking place during National Recovery Month, highlights the importance of place, community and belonging and imbues our urban environment with the magic of folklore and the weight of tradition. Handmade flags and ceramic flasks, made using heritage craft techniques encourage us to reflect on how our personal journeys are part of the fabric of the city.
Landmark began as an exploration into the healing effects of heritage crafts both for individuals and for a city post-pandemic.
The flags are inspired by the pennants that would have hung from Sheffield Castle hundreds of years ago. They were created in response to sites in the city that hold personal significance to the people who made them.
Digital reproductions of the flags will be displayed on paper and paste billboards throughout the city during September, with whole site takeovers at Sidney Street and Castlegate. The posters can be scanned to gain deeper insight into the significance of each site, the exhibition and to find out about recovery services in the city. Maps, designed by Peter & Paul, showing all the locations, will be available from the exhibition.
To christen the new community Kiln Yard facility at Yorkshire Artspace, slip decorated Pilgrim Flasks were baked and then used to serve herbal elixirs in a medieval banquet. Staged beneath the flags, the feast was an opportunity to bring people together to think about recovery and our city.
A film by Shared Programme documents the project and will be screened in the gallery as part of the exhibition.
This project has been a partnership with Project 6 who provide services for people affected by substance use.
