If These Walls Could Talk Exhibition

Yesterday I visited the exhibition 'If These Walls Could Talk' in Breightmet, Bolton. This exhibition takes over an entire residential house in order to display pieces of art and celebrate women within the community.

The project was the idea of spoken word artist Louise Wallwein who collaborates with a number of artists, technicians and members of the community in order to give local women a voice.

 Dinning table

I personally found the exhibition to be intelligent, funny and moving featuring hidden surprises everywhere you looked.

 
We were involved as we introduced smart materials to be used within the project. Textile artist Jen Gilmore used these materials in the bedroom and did a stunning job by using EL wire to create glowing lettering in the bedding and sewable LEDs to create a curtain covered in twinkling stars. Our technician Garry programmed a LilyPad Arduino to create sequence for the LEDs. Members of the community painted poems on material using thermochromatic pigments and fabric paint, which were sewn into the beautiful duvet cover.

Another interesting part of the exhibition was the use of sensors and sound. A technician brought in by Louise created triggers within everyday objects that played recordings of spoken word performances from the local women, making this project a fully immersive and interactive experience.

 Triggers found in jewellery boxes, chairs and the microwave.

I had such a wonderful day exploring this amazing house, well done to all the very talented people involved. I only thought I would be there for about half an hour but ended up staying the whole day and joining in with their knitting group. Everyone is really friendly so don't be shy to pop down and have a look.

The exhibition closes on the 22nd March and more details can be found here