I have always had ideas about lines of movement in a scene, seing things past other things and celebrating stuff that is often overlooked. As I took people round the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, explaining about Sculptures and Landscaping and Landscape Art, I usually remembered to pause and admire a tree. I conceived the idea of a series of tree works highlighting them and putting their grid reference in. Nowadays it would be a What Three Words reference.
The Colne Valley Narrow Canal was never really much of a success, despite the spectacular tunnel under the Pennines. There was always a problem with water supply, even in this rainy area. It shut down and much of it was built over in different ways. The giant mill that can just be seen through the bridge also shut down. The the mill got adopted and restored by Huddersfield University. I worked there as a lecturer and had an office looking down on the canal side.
Behind you, if you were standing here, there was a building over where the canal ran, seemingly an impassable block. Persistence meant that finally they did away with a lock and so were able to take the canal under the building. Together with similiar pieces of ingenuity elsewhere up the valley, this enabled the canal to re-open. As soon as boats started moving up and down, they re-discovered the water supply problems. It has managed to keep going and it is certainly a plus-point to the area. This forgotten bridge is now seen by less intrepid explorers again. Long after I painted this, I was part of a outdoor theatre production put on by the University Drama department that included releasing many origami swans, that I organised people to make.
I lived in the Colne and Holme Valleys for many years and was always struck by the abandoned and stranded buildings and walls. I have actually rebuilt a few sections of the walls and over the years, many of the buildings have slowly been reclaimed, as a bit more wealth returned to the valleys.
