WORLD class art isn't something most people would associate with Barrow-in-Furness.

Something the area is synonymous with though is industry, and it is this that inspired a stunning installation currently being exhibited in the town.

In Defence of Industry is a composite montage of around 200 photographs of Barrow and its surroundings, printed on fabric and stretched over a four-metre light box, and displayed to great effect above a long channel of "black" water.

The reflection on the perfectly-still surface is almost as intriguing as the image itself. For a single-piece exhibition, there is so much to take in in one go.

Housed at Signal Film and Media's exhibition space alongside their Cooke's Studios, in Abbey Road, it forms the first commissioned work for the recently-launched Lost Stations project.

Clearly, Devonshire Dock Hall dominates this reimagined landscape, but visitors will notice glimpses of various Cumbrian mines popping up among Lake District fells, and the colour of the piece is a familiar iron-ore red.


It has been interpreted in a number of different ways by those that have seen it - the artist, London-based Felicity Hammond, was initially drawn to the "huge sheds" that dominate Barrow's skyline, as well as the new Central Yard Complex, prompting her to ask the question, "are they going to just keep building?".

Project coordinator Kezz Turner says: "I think it's quite polarising, which is what art should be.

"It's a very powerful and provocative image, and people see all kinds of things in it. What is really interesting is that it is only one piece, but you can easily spend 10 or 15 minutes taking it all in and viewing it from different positions and perspectives."

Felicity Hammond was the first artist headhunted by Signal for Lost Stations, after the charity's directors were bowled over by her recent work in London. On visiting Furness for the first time, she was taken on a whistle-stop tour, and the ideas began to form.

While the Lost Stations digital art programme was a continuation of last year's Lost Journeys of the Furness Railway exhibition, but here Hammond has taken the theme of "stations" to include power stations and sites of industry.

In Defence of Industry closes officially on Thursday May 26, but will be available to view until the end of the month by calling ahead on 01229 838592.

Felicity Hammond will be in Barrow on Saturday June 3 to lead a workshop at the Cooke's Studios, which will aim to develop digital photography skills. The free workshop runs from 10.30am to 4.30pm, and applications must be made at www.loststations.signalfilmandmedia.co.uk before the deadline of Monday May 29.