Landscape, 2024 in collaboration with Janette Nelson, Julie Haygarth, Mariola Orawiec, Phillipa Whitehead, Linda Buttle, Rinku Shaw, Agnieszka Stankiewicz, Elzbieta Orczykowska, Martin Bennett, Angela Joss, Amanda Dixon, Angela Chesters, Josie Platt, Jake Haygarth, Yvonne Rawcliffe and Christine Southern.
Specifications
Old bristles from used brooms by cleaners at Lancaster University,
Size: 80 x 60 cm (hand-made walnut framed)
Description
A bristle from an old broom served as the ticket to enter the gallery. Each visitor was given a bristle to place on a canvas, carefully aligning it next to the others. Bristle by Bristle took an object often considered dirty or untouchable—bristles used to sweep floors—and encouraged participants to create something glorified and alive through their delicate handling. This act served as a gesture of acknowledgement for the often-overlooked labour of cleaners, whose work is typically associated with low-wage, ‘dirty’ jobs. By engaging with the bristles in this thoughtful manner, participants were invited to reconsider and challenge their preconceptions about these roles and the ordinary objects involved.
The repetitive act of placing each bristle might evoke thoughts of the monotony of cleaners’ repetitive work tasks while also highlighting the potential for individuality within these actions. It is a collective act, relying on a group of people coming together to create something significant from individual, small gestures—a metaphor, perhaps, for how change might be brought about.