Select a region
The events, objects, stories and characters making up the 200-year history of Clarence Road have been revealed in a colourful mosaic by a local artist.
Commissioned to celebrate 20 years of Clarence Road-based Jersey Archive, the artwork was created by Danny Booth, who has recently returned to the island after working for several years in London making and teaching art.
When he saw the Archive was looking for an artist to create a piece celebrating its 20th anniversary, he proposed the idea of “a mosaic that would incorporate work made by the general public.”
The resultant artwork is a visual timeline of Clarence Road, documenting the events, objects, stories and characters that have populated the street over the last two centuries, following the area from its development through to the opening of the Archive.
Video: A close-up look at the mosaic.
A look at the colourful mosaic shows images varying across local history, from Jersey cows to sailing ships to red cross parcels.
Many of the names of residents who have lived on the road over the last 200 years are scattered around the piece.
Booth told Express the mosaic was inspired by “the rich history of the road the Archive is built on”, adding that he “had no idea of the site’s depth of history and how much it has changed over the last 200 years or so."
Pictured: The mosaic was installed in advance of the Jersey Archive's 20th Anniversary celebrations.
"Jersey has such an interesting and varied history, and it’s incredible to think about all the changes that have happened in just one street," he said.
He also credited a talk by Archive Director Linda Romeril, called ‘What’s your street’s story?’, as a big influence, as it contained photos of an assortment of old documents listing house contents, family pictures and police reports.
Explaining how the mosaic was a community effort, with Booth leading four workshops for secondary school students, members of the general public and residents of Clarence Road, he said: “The workshops were a chance to gain some background knowledge about the street and the work the Archive does and to create a ceramic tile representing something about the history of the area.”
Pictured: The mosaic was partly made up of contributions from secondary school students, the general public and residents of Clarence Road.
It was this interaction with the community in particular that Booth enjoyed.
“It was great seeing some participants who had very little confidence in art create some really nice work, and being surprised of the quality of what they had created,” he said.
The end product of the community workshops was around 40 handmade tiles, which are all a part of the mosaic. Booth was pleased with this, saying that to him, “it’s really important to make art accessible for everyone and to give people the confidence to be able to create art no matter their ability or how good they think they are.”
The wider community have also been appreciating it. Booth said that, during the installation, he had feedback from passers-by who said it “brightened up the area.”
“It's a lovely public space at the Archive and I hope people will enjoy using it more and the artwork will put a smile on their face.”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.