In medieval times, pennants were hung from castle ramparts to reassure travellers they could expect a warm welcome. Those currently hanging in Yorkshire Artspace’s Persistence Works gallery have a similar effect. They form part of Land/Mark, a most engaging exhibition by artists Emilie Taylor and Christopher Jarratt, displaying the results of their collaboration with a group of eleven people from Project 6, the drug and alcohol support service.
Land/Mark is a perfectly-formed project, so thoughtfully constructed and curated, with hugely beneficial outcomes. The mood is set with brightly-coloured pennants and tables laden with ceramic flasks. The space becomes part gallery, part baronial hall – a venue ripe for a formal gathering, as if a ceremonial banquet is about to begin. You do not need to be a historian to appreciate the allure of past times. We all wonder what it might have been like and imagine ourselves in those surroundings. The aesthetic of heritage crafts, the warmth of their handmadeness, conjures up a shared consciousness and images of working together to serve our community.
