Wakefield artist breaks barriers with hands-on mural
A Wakefield artist is challenging the traditional ‘do not touch’ rule in galleries with a new tactile mural designed to be explored by hand as well as by eye.
Ruth Fones has unveiled Art at Your Fingertips at St Swithun’s Community Centre, Eastmoor.
Designed using plaster relief techniques, the work invites visitors to trace raised surfaces discovering bees, ferns, feathers, sunflowers and seeds as well as a textured path flowing through the panels.
Ruth said: “We are often told we can’t touch artwork in museums in galleries.
"This type of interaction may understandably damage the work, so I wanted to find a material and a process that was more durable than the paper based embossing techniques I’d used in my previous work”
Part of the research phase of the project was to find a material that was durable and wouldn’t degrade or get damaged by interaction with the surface.
She said wanted to create something that was intended to be interacted with in this way by design, which led her to train in Italian Venetian plaster techniques at Stucco and Stucco in Flanshaw.
The project was funded by the Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice.
Ruth’s work teaching art classes with local sight loss charity Wakefield District Sight Aid led to a desire to experience artwork using senses other than vision.
During the development of the mural, Ruth also spent time visiting a range of activity groups at the community centre to understand how people use the space and what imagery might resonate with their community.
She said: “We often think of art as something purely visual, but many people experience the world through other senses. I wanted to create something that welcomes everyone, and gives permission to explore art through touch.”
The mural uses joyful, contrasting colours and clearly defined textures that are easy to follow by hand.
It is intended to create artwork that is both visually striking and physically engaging.
She said it celebrates “themes of growth and connection, offering an inclusive encounter with contemporary art”.
Chair of Eastmoor Community Project Olivia Rowley said: "As we are delighted to have this lovely piece of work on our walls and are pleased as to how and why it has been produced"
Ruth is also currently exhibiting at Wakefield Exchange as part of The Wall, a rotating showcase of local artists.
Her display, Glimmers, features vibrant semi-abstract landscapes inspired by walks near her home in Wakefield and nearby Huddersfield.
Using bright colours, flashes of gold and unconventional painting tools such as old credit cards, the paintings capture fleeting moments of light in everyday scenes.
Ruth added: “The Glimmers series is about finding those small flashes of beauty and light in familiar places.
"Continuing my desire to create artwork that is easy to access and connect with, this collection of prints explores some familiar landscapes and landmarks using bright contrasting colours and textures.”
The exhibition opened this week as part of Artwalk Wakefield between 5 to 8pm. Ruth is also offering a drop-in workshop on the night where you can have a go creating your own colourful landscape art using some of her techniques.