If Walls Could Talk
Louise Atkinson
I am a visual artist and researcher. My work explores co-production and representation in and through material culture. Through involving participants in my artistic and research practice, I consider how marginalised voices and experiences are reflected in changing constructions of history. I am currently developing a participatory visual art project with Leeds Museum and Galleries and the Leeds Chinese community to respond to the Chinese wallpaper at Temple Newsam House.
The Chinese Drawing Room at Temple Newsam House features wallpaper made by artisans in Guangzhou, formerly Canton, for the European export market. The wallpaper was imported by the British East India Company and then gifted to Frances, Lady Ingram by the Prince Regent in 1806, on behalf of her daughter, Isabella, Lady Hertford. Lady Hertford hung the wallpaper in 1827, and it is the only original feature in the house today.
Participants from the Leeds Chinese community will contribute to the augmented reality experiences, inspired by motifs from the wallpaper and their own stories. Members of the general public will learn about augmented reality and the links between Temple Newsam House and China. Above is a mockup of augmented reality in the Great Hall at Temple Newsam House using images from the Chinese wallpaper.
Participants will also create repeat patterns using elements from the Temple Newsam House Chinese wallpaper and other cultural motifs and objects, such as those in the 2024 'Part of the Furniture' exhibition, currently on display in the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery at the University of Leeds. The above example (2023) uses silhouettes and cutouts of the birds, rocks, and plants from the wallpaper. Below are a number of examples from my previous work and participatory projects.
Half-drop repeat pattern (2022) inspired by the wallpaper archive at Temple Newsam House. Temple Newsam House has a large archive of wallpaper dating back to 1635, situating the Chinese wallpaper within a broader British decorative history.
Workshop with volunteers at Temple Newsam House as part of the Designated Development Fund project, 'Grief, Joy and Togetherness' (2022). Participants used motifs from historical portraits and objects in the collection to create repeat patterns based on their archival research.
No One Is An Island (2023), an augmented reality map, co-created with local refugees and migrants as part of the University of Leeds' Welcoming Migrants programme. The project was commissioned by Leeds University Library Galleries to respond to the 2023 'Shifting Borders' exhibition in the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery.
Seeing Stars: Beyond the Naked Eye (2022), an experimental photography project with refugees and migrants in response to an exhibition curated by Hondartza Fraga and Leeds University Library Galleries. Workshops included photomontage, portraiture, light, movement, cyanotype, and projection and explored ideas relating to science, philosophy, fantasy, and history to represent different cultural meanings of space. The final work was co-curated as a digital slideshow and publication, and shown as part of the larger exhibition.
Multilingual Streets (2019-2021), a project working with multilingual pupils at two high schools in Manchester, and led by Multilingual Manchester and Dr Jessica Bradley from the University of Sheffield. Young people explored the different languages visible on the surrounding high streets and used them as inspiration for artworks. These artworks were combined to produce two publications, a wall vinyl, a banner, and a wallpaper.
'Family Narratives of Being German in Yorkshire' (2018), a large format, digital artwork based on documents, objects, and conversations with German expatriates and descendants of Germans living in Yorkshire. Led by Dr Claudia Sternberg, themes included nationality, marriage, children, cultural heritage, work, education, and alienation. The artwork investigated what it means to be an EU national living in post-referendum UK, and the ways in which personal objects and images represent elements of place.
'No Place Like Home' (2018) explored themes of home, place, and belonging, in collaboration with young Syrian refugees and unaccompanied young people seeking asylum. Participants were introduced to new ways of making artwork using techniques including collage, spray painting, stenciling, and printing. The artworks were then photographed and reproduced as repeat pattern designs.