Mr Gatty’s Experiment Shed was an installation by Bradford-based artist Claire Wellesley-Smith exploring the layered histories of a former industrial site in Accrington, East Lancashire, the purpose built ‘experiment shed’ of F.A Gatty, 19th century textile industrialist and dye innovator.
In the bicentenary year of Gatty’s birth this interdisciplinary work, created through an authentic engagement and co-production process with local residents, produced an installation in this unique space. It allowed a re-imagining of the physical ephemera of the industry and the raw materials that drove it. A focus on the heritage of the madder plant, slow growing, entangled and embedded in the place added to the sensory experience.
Drop-in printing activities and information about the local heritage of textile dyeing and printing co-curated by Local Colour project participants was also be available on site.
