Young artist's stunning images at Golden Square bring to life Warrington's World War I experiences
SHOPPERS packed into a Warrington
Shopping Centre to watch art in action as an illustrator created a glass mural
commemorating the Town's War Heroes. Emma Brown has been commissioned to
make the stunning piece for Golden Square Shopping Centre to mark the First
World War and the effect it had on the Warrington area.
The 26 year old took up residence in the Centre over 2 days to create the
final pieces of work live and visitors were delighted to watch her work. Emma
previously held workshops at local schools and other venues to gather ideas.
She is now working on a large glass mural depicting scenes of fighting,
especially the:- '2nd Battle Of Ypres', which involved the local
South Lancashire Regiment during the 1914 to 1918 conflict. When completed, it
will take pride of place at Golden Square.
Another mural will also be on view at Contact Warrington, the Council's one stop shop in Horsemarket Street, with a final animation being projected in the art gallery on the top floor of Pyramid arts Centre from 18 July to 29 August 2015.
The project was commissioned by Culture Warrington, with additional funding from Arts Council England and Warrington Borough Council. Emma, originally from Warrington, was proud to show off her skills to passers by and amazed by the number of people who stopped to take an interest in what she was doing. "I'm really pleased with how the work looks and I got a lot of great feedback from people. It's really busy in the Centre, and there were a lot of shoppers who looked interested but didn't want to interrupt. So it was mainly when I stopped for a break that they came over. When you're 'live drawing' on to windows in such a public environment, it's a real conversation starter. While I was working people were giving me a thumbs up or just a friendly smile and pointing it out to each other so it was great. I've not had that many people watching me work before, but I'm quite confident in the way I work now so it was okay."
Spencer Ward was out shopping in the Golden
Square with his children when he saw Emma in action and stopped to admire her
work with 8 year old Jacob and Carly, aged 12. "It's fantastic to
watch. It's an interesting concept as she has to paint everything backwards on
to the glass but it's very effective."
Using special pens on the reverse side of the glass, Emma mixed colours and
styles to recreate the First World War scene, and Spencer could make out the
soldiers as they were drawn. "You could recognise the uniforms
straight away and it came out really well. It's not something I've seen before,
but it's a very distinctive style. It's great for people to see it
actually being done, too. These days it's more likely you'd get a print out from
a computer that was then stuck on the wall but this gives it a much more
personal touch."
The family, who live in Sandiway, were
impressed by the talented artist at work and the children understood the concept
having learnt about the Great War in school. Spencer added:- "It has
been great. Just as long as they don't go home and start colouring in the
windows with their felt pens!"
The project has involved the production of several similar pieces of art.
Janey Moran, Cultural Engagement Manager for Culture Warrington, said:-
"Golden Square's staff team have been fantastically supportive of the project so
we're really looking forward to working with them again. This project takes art
out of expected places like galleries and into a space which thousands of people
use each day."
Emma, a former pupil at Bridgewater High School in Appleton, also works part time for Culture Warrington and at The Lowry in Salford. The pieces will form an important part of her artistic portfolio. "It's great publiCity for me and I'm hoping it will lead to more public art commissions and work like this is out there, in the community and seen by so many more people than in a gallery."
A 2nd live art event will be held at the:- Golden Square Shopping Centre over 8 May and 9 May 2015, during which time Emma will complete another mural and present it to the mall. Ian Cox, Golden Square Centre Director, said:- "It's been great working with Emma, as her ideas have been very creative. Golden Square was very busy while she was there and I could see that people were intrigued and interested in her mural, either to watch her at work or to talk about their own family's role in World War I. We believe that Golden Square is much more than just a place to shop. It is also a meeting place and social hub for the community so Emma's project will be right at home and fits in well with our aims to always support the local town and its talented people."
A 2nd live art event will be held at the:- Golden Square Shopping Centre over 8 May and 9 May 2015, during which time Emma will complete another mural and present it to the mall.
