Published at 11:36, Wednesday, 21 May 2008

DRIFTWOOD, scraps of fabric found on the beach, copper wire, fishing tackle, old newspaper and other discarded materials have all been transformed by artist Julian Longcrake for a new exhibition at Penrith and Eden Museum.

Recollection: Julian Longcake with his ‘memory tree’ at Penrith museum

The exhibition, entitled In Memory, features 12 different, large-scale works of art formed from discarded materials, all representing places, time and reminiscences.

Julian, 43, lives and works in Blindcrake near Cockermouth, and has been a professional artist for the last 15 years.

He studied at Cumbria College of Art and Design and Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall, so has spent many years living near to the coast. Many of the works on show – which include collages and special installation pieces – represent his preoccupation with the sea and travelling.

He explained: “My father’s family are from Maryport. My grandfather and uncle were always involved in the sea and worked on the ships running between the west coast and Ireland, and I’ve always had this instinctive attachment to the sea. So using driftwood, threads from fishing nets and materials found lying around on the beach is like recovering that part of the past.”

Copper wire shaped into different objects also figures prominently in the exhibition. Julian said: “There’s a large, heavy book like an old Bible made from flattened copper wire, with the pages made from driftwood.”

Another of the prominent exhibits is a “memory tree”, with leaves bearing the faces of remembered people.

Julian made the tree from painted cardboard tubes and newspaper, with branches formed by driftwood and leaves shaped out of copper wire.

He then worked with elderly people from residential homes in the Penrith and Eden area, discussing their recollections with them.

“We played a pass the parcel game where old objects were wrapped in old newspaper dating from the time that the object inside was from.

“They were able to identify people they used to know from the pages of the old paper, and I put those people’s pictures on the leaves, so each leaf represents a memory.”

The exhibition runs until Sunday. The museum is open each day from 10am to 5pm and admission is free. Some of the work exhibited will be on sale.

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