Eleven Oranges

Dawn Jutton and Mal Dewhirst’s collaboration celebrated the one-year anniversary of the re-opening of Ingestre Orangery with a new installation re-configuring work created before and since the restoration.

Dawn’s new large digital photo-collage prints combine two series of photographs she took on visits to the Orangery eleven years apart.  Inspired by the Haikus she wrote during poetry workshops led by Mal last year, this work explores and re-frames the concept of ‘before and after’ photographs.

A new soundscape by Mal Dewhirst accompanied his sound piece ‘Missive Voices’ that featured poetry phone messages sent by poets thinking of Ing­­estre during the first 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

The exhibition also included trowels stamped by artist Luke Perry, with words written by Mal, Dawn and visitors to Ingestre during the 2019 ‘Dialect of Digging’ workshops.

Eleven Oranges
Ingestre
Whispering Ashlar
 Square light beams off  walls 
 Urging greenery to spill free
   -  echoed green whispers
 Blossom notes dance free
 on soft ancestral birdsong
   - warm limestone ashlar
 Human croquet played
 under yew covered hoops
   - dance on sandstone steps 

Staffordshire Poetry

Dawn was commissioned by Staffordshire County Council to create a series of images in response to the online poetry collection. An exhibition in Stafford Library with limited edition free postcards launched the collection before the images toured Staffordshire libraries.

Dawn also led workshops with poets and the public to collaborate on on new images to add to the collection. The full collection of images and poems can be found at: https://staffordshirepoetlaureate.wordpress.com/staffordshirepoetrycollection/

Older Women Rock (the Potteries)

Dawn Jutton, is one of the inspirational and innovative artists, involved in the project for ‘Older Women Rock The Potteries!’. She worked alongside spoken word poet Leah Thorn on the project to reflect the ideas of “Older Women Rock The Potteries!” through artistic works created specifically for the project including the ‘Scarf’, ‘Blazer’, ‘Apron’ and ‘Suitcase.’ The stirring meaning that has been defined through this artwork is spectacular. 

Keele University Art Gallery


Older Women Rock Pink Link Blazer, 2017

Beyond the Surface

‘Beyond the Surface’ are two pieces created for the ‘Scapes exhibition at Guildhall Gallery, Stafford.

I re-visited Marston Road in the north end of Stafford, an area near to where I lived for many years, and where I have ben recording the changing architecture for three decades. The two pieces are constructed from found boxes and contain composite images inspired by the collected the memories of people I interviewed in the street and my own children’s memories. In ‘Beyond the Surface; No.1’

Whilst the found boxes relate on a personal level to a family history of regular unpacking and packing of boxes of belongings and childhood slideshows of our travels, the images explore different personal experiences and memories of a particular area at various times, encouraging a re-examining  of environment and personal relationships to space.

from ‘Beyond the Surface; No.1’
‘Beyond the Surface’ No.2

No Place Like Home

The fifties is an important decade for understanding the social history of women as the influence of the period remains in much of twenty-first century life, from mass consumerism and advertising, to the constant media examination of the role of women.

This series has been inspired by the contrasting messages from second world war posters, which encouraged women to adopt strong roles and jobs traditionally associated with men, to fifties advertising persuading women back into the feminine safety of the home, family and gleaming perfection. This was only achievable according to advertisers, of course, by purchasing the latest labour saving devices or wearing the newest fashions, but above all by putting the needs of your husband and children first. However, the reality behind this projected veneer of harmony and perfect family life was that many women missed the camaraderie and independence afforded them in the nation’s war effort.

In each of the images the kitchen utensils have been individually photographed and digitally  ‘cut out’, whilst the other elements have been manipulated from fifties advertisements and magazine articles. The text has also been ‘borrowed’ from period sources and re-used to create a new context.

Class 33

An enduring obsession with the simple abstract beauty of distressed surfaces in a variety of environments is a recurring theme in my work. Careful composition and ʻaccidentalʼ colour relationships provide endless possibilities for images which still the impact of nature on human endeavour.

In this instance the source is trains in various states of repair/disrepair. This series continues on every visit to Bridgnorth, Chasewater, or Churnet, or anywhere the restoration of heritage railways is happening.