For friends who have followed my journey, to new groups that have come to know me through St Marks Stays, I thought I would revisit my work and blog on Returning North as seven years in, it holds another perspective and view now.
Back in 2017 when we moved from Leicester to renovate this house in to group accommodation, I documented lots of it and curated an exhibition at Farfield Mill that captured the visual elements that remind me of my childhood in Cheshire as I felt like I was returning home to the North of England after living in the Midlands for 30 years. Some of the images are from St Marks Stays and some are from my childhood home.
I have included some sections from my original blog back then and my exhibition statements because it has many new meanings now, having changed the house so much and seeing my careers move in different directions to what I had envisioned when planning to move to Cumbria.
“Moving house and taking on the renovation of the property has given me time to pick up my camera for me and it has been inspiring to create images that are more conceptual in nature. I know when we look back in a year, it will be amazing to see the changes that are happening daily at the moment. It will be wonderful to appreciate we got through the grime and inevitable surprises of decorating an older house and created a home made from love and devotion. The point of buying an older house is to enjoy the quirks and that is what I want to create with these images. I want to be fond of the imperfections and not stressed because my life is not immaculate at this present time. It is about enjoying the journey after all isn’t it. The images show the things we found, the textures, the elements of a new way of life in the country, my battered decorating converse and hands. These ‘before’ images show a commitment to making a new life for ourselves that shouldn’t be glossed over, or taken for granted. They show the promise of St Marks Stays.”
I decided to explore the connections between my childhood in Cheshire to the development of my life, as an adult now, living in Cumbria. Like many, my path has progressed through so many stages of life since leaving Widnes, (marriage, bereavement, career changes, moving homes and more) and this exhibition aims to explore the similarities and differences, of childhood to adulthood, via our house renovations.
From a terraced house to an 8 bedroom victorian house, the girl in the photograph never imagined and still doesn’t quite believe she lives in such a grand setting. I feel people from the North don’t grow out of their roots and are always proud of their upbringing no matter what ‘status’ they reach in life. From a small backyard, to a garden with a view that is like a painting. From a house with a road name on it, to a house with a heritage important enough to have the year it was built, carved in to the masonry. The differences are huge, but the connections draw me in.
Adapting to city life from a small town was easy at 18 years old, but changing from city life to country life has been different now I am older and have years of established routines. The heels and fancy clothes have been replaced with muddy walking boots, wellies, head torches and decorating converse.
From the 70s to even now, I think there are many that can relate to the changing fashions of the home and the retro re-appearance of them. Net curtains will always remind me of my Widnes home and there was something about the one set of curtains left hanging in St Marks that brought back memories of terrace windows. I actually asked could I have mum’s porcelain dogs, despite my husband and sister really disliking them, regardless of the fact that they are back in Vogue. Patterned carpets and stair bannisters, along with avocado bathroom suites are something that everyone of a certain age can relate to and these photographs show my childhood home and my current house. Plates left in the cellar are a reminder of the china when I was a little girl.
From the dust, cobwebs and boxes of moving into a big old house, to the light of the fells, these images reflect the dark and light moments of taking on a new stage in life.
The exhibition at Farfield Mill when it was there:
