Voices from the Lockout
Whilst researching the Preston Lockout (October 1853 - May 1854) I was struck by the language used in handbills, letters and at meetings as reported in the press. I decided to make a book “Voices from the Lockout” focusing on the words used by people on both sides of the dispute.
I also came across a letter written by the Rev. Clay describing the effects of the lockout on the people of Preston. In it he describes a school that ladies from his church set up giving lessons in literacy and in sewing to girls who would normally have been employed in the mills. I didn’t think that during the middle of the lockout that these girls would have lengths of new material to play with, they would be much more likely to learn patching, darning and making over. So I decided to work with pieces of recycled and left over fabrics. I used paper lithography to print the texts onto the fabric.
The book uses the scroll format because there is no narrative, no obvious beginning, middle and end. It is designed to be unrolled and read at any point along its length. The cover is a wrap made of recycled cotton cloth. I thought that the mills girls would probably carry their sewing wrapped in a similar fashion in order to keep it clean.
The scroll rods were turned by Tony Balmer. Their ends make reference to the cotton bobbins from the mills.
The scroll rods were turned by Tony Balmer. Their ends make reference to the cotton bobbins from the mills.
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