Current Exhibitions
Jane Foale was Artist in Residence at Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum from January 2008 until May 2009. During her Residency Jane spent time at the Museum, in the surrounding landscape and with local schools.
Most of the work was made on site in a Portakabin. Every two or three weeks the artist would travel from suburban West Yorkshire to work in this dramatic landscape with its rich geological and mining history.
Integrating the idea of time into the work soon became both intention and the inevitable consequence of her pattern of visits. Cast iron cogs and other items of machinery were set up in pools of water and paint and left between trips. The cold wet weather slowed the drying time allowing rust, paint and other materials to interact and create striking images echoing the formation of the area’s minerals.
‘My working day often began by watching Killhope’s huge water wheel being set in motion’’ comments Foale. ‘The sound of the water changing pitch and the gentle yet uncompromising movement of this graceful old machine created a rhythm which ran through my day. A cycle emerged which somehow forged a link between the use of wheels and water in the traditional working practices of the mine and the very different work which I did there each day’.
The work is shown alongside the objects and artists’ materials which went into making them. Photographs, stories and sketchbooks help chart the artist’s response to this unique area.
From Time to Time will be available through out 2010 season.