Lost in Transit

About

‘Lost in Transit’ is a statement about the whereabouts of something or someone that can’t be determined. This inability to trace an object or individual doesn’t mean that they are nonexistent but just that they are somewhere out of reach. This statement could also be applied to the subject of history whereby narratives might be hazy, distorted, incomplete or unavailable.

Here, Lost in Transit explores this particular building and its origins - a manufacturing company that produced horse drawn carriages and coaches for travel and the transport of goods toward the end of the 19th century. Three artists, Penny Hallas, Louise Short and Zoe Preece, were invited earlier this year to respond to the idea of the invisible histories and the carriage of time. The project connects us with a past to consider how we might re-frame the future, with particular emphasis around travel and the movement of people.

Their creative responses explore the building’s original purpose and its wider Victorian context: those employed, the impact of labour and individual roles; the materials used and the necessary craft skills; the silent animal central to production; the relocation and carriage of people; and societal implications still relevant today.  

In one sense, the building is a vessel that holds the layers of time including the forgotten and the overlooked. It has witnessed all the individuals that have passed through: voices and conversations; dreams; aspirations; hardships; as well as the overheard and the misheard; the footsteps and the whispers. It is a container of the past but all the while anticipates the memory of the future. It also represents the flow of people in and out of the building, where the doors and openings are leaky conduits that allow narratives to be carried beyond the threshold. 

The drawings, photographs, objects and sculptural reflections presented here explore the record of history, its permanence, transience and absence. These are all considered as catalysts for further investigation and conversation.

Lost in Transit has been curated by Alex Boyd Jones.