Burwell Millennium Wall Panel Project

Celebrating Continuity and Change

Brief

The first phase of this project has been to generate ideas and develop a framework design for a wall-based panel celebrating life in Burwell at the turn of the millennium. The aim is to involve a variety of groups from the village in this process and in turn encourage ownership of the work. Local artist, Zoë Chamberlain, has been commissioned to work with the groups and produce the finished wall panel.

Research and Consultation

The first stage of planning has been to meet with Burwell Museum staff and those with a significant local knowledge to try to establish key characteristics of the village - historical and current.

Alongside this, initial contact has been made with a selected number of groups to gain their input and plan a more detailed involvement in the creative process.

Key Themes/Outline Design Ideas

Following my initial research, I am becoming more convinced that the wall panel should take the form of a number of square tiles forming a square or series of three squares. Fitting in physically with the space on the entrance wall at the village college, this modular format also makes reference to the community - a whole made up of individual parts.

It makes sense to represent these individual elements with real building bricks, or tiles - a key product from Burwell both past and present.

In trying to think about how to express the spirit of Burwell, I have been struck by the idea of continuity and change. There is a sense of determination that allows the village to evolve, but yet maintains the things that make Burwell a great place to live.

It seems key historical events mark the skill of the villagers in bouncing back against change and setbacks. Whether it be following the great fire which killed so many people, or the decline and renewal of industry (For example the Brick and Tile company). There are many things that are different in modern Burwell to times gone by. But remarkably, there are many things that have stood the test of time.

At the time of the millennium it is a point to look forward and look back.

People often talk about the 'good old days', and how things 'aren't what they were', and are proud of the things that have stayed the same for long periods of time in the place that they live. 'She's been here over 86 years', 'The same family has been trading on the same site for as long as anyone can remember'. A natural pride in maintaining tradition. But things inevitably do change, how do we look to the future with a balanced view of new and old combined? What positive things did we have in Burwell in the past that should be maintained, what good things do we have now that we didn't before, and what things have stood the test of time.

Through the community workshop sessions we can explore aspects of Burwell life past and present. Predominantly working with printing using card relief we will take ideas from discussion and source materials and adapt them to create our own designs. The work generated from these sessions will go on to inspire the final design.

One of the other key aspects of community life in Burwell is the range of activities on offer to all age groups at all times of the day. This interest by all age groups to engage in 'lifelong learning' also shows a spirit of challenge and determination that should be represented somehow in the finished artwork.

To tie all these ideas together maybe the panel should almost take the form of a puzzle, with elements not instantly recognisable, allowing variation for those villagers that see the piece every day, and challenge in the spirit of the village. Each individual tile that makes up the whole will have a section of the design to make an overall impact.

The Workshops

The workshops have allowed two different approaches to thinking about life in Burwell. Some participants chose to represent key aspects of life in the village by creating images that could be turned into simple symbols. Some thought about architectural or natural landmarks, others thought about important agricultural or industrial aspects of life for example, whilst others have looked at life in the village in terms of other species that live here. Some focussed on symbols that have more of a personal meaning to them or their family.

The other approach allowed the participants to think in much more depth about changes to, or an evolution of, the village. Using simple shapes or symbols we were able to experiment with making a series of three or four images which show changes over a period of time. We were able to consider how we feel about certain developments, thinking about positive and negative aspects of past, present and future, life in Burwell. Some used shapes to show how the village has physically changed, others show how it has changed socially, or a combination of the two.

Using a simple block printing process participants have been able to translate their ideas into designs which will influence the design of the final artwork. By printing onto tile shaped pieces of card we can start to visualise possible outcomes for the wall panel.

The Design

The finished design hopes to incorporate the aims and aspirations set out following initial research and consultation with different groups in the village. Some of the actual images created in the workshops have been incorporated into an overall design by Zoë Chamberlain.

The design takes the form of a puzzle, a word and image search. It celebrates some of the key aspects of Burwell life, past and present. The more abstract symbols in the panel explore the physical and social evolution of the Burwell community. See if you can work out what they might represent.

The construction incorporates handmade Burwell clay tiles and digital transfer techniques, embracing both new and old technologies.

Our hope is that the panel will be a living tribute to life in Burwell, provoking enquiries, memories and thoughts amongst both local people and visitors.