Kirklees Together

A new art installation using recycled materials has been unveiled this week in Dewsbury town centre

Recycled letters spelling the town’s name now stand on Dewsbury’s ringroad, spelling out the town’s name and welcoming people to the town centre.

The artwork has been commissioned as part of the Dewsbury Creative Town Arts Programme.

How was the artwork created?

Local art collective Cubic Fruit took on the commission, with lead artist Emmeline North.

Four of the letters came from disused advertising in the White Rose Shopping Centre, and were salvaged from a local reclamation yard in September 2021.  The team worked to clean and restore these original letters, and then began forming detailed designs for the remaining ones.

The new designs reference textiles and woven materials – a homage to Dewsbury’s historic thriving textile industry.  However, these textile-inspired designs were actually painstakingly fabricated in metal by artist Mick Kirby Geddes.  One of the letters features hundreds of tiny dot welds on its face, to create a spotted fabric effect.

As well as breathing new life into the original letters salvaged from the White Rose, some of the materials used in the brand new letters are also recycled.  All materials used in the design are designed to protect and enhance the structures, creating a striking piece of artwork that will welcome people to Dewsbury town centre for years to come.

What is the Dewsbury Creative Town Arts Programme?

The Dewsbury Creative Town Arts Programme is part of our blueprint plans to breathe new life into the town centre.  It already includes a range of permanent and temporary public art installations around Dewsbury.

Through this £200k initiative, we’re working with arts organisation Beam to provide an array of opportunities for people to engage with art, and for local entrepreneurs to engage in the commissioning process – benefitting local residents, businesses and community groups all at once.  The programme also creates a unique platform for both emerging and established artists to be creative out and about, and have their work in the public eye as we celebrate Dewsbury.

Who are Cubic Fruit?

Cubic Fruit are the art collective commissioned to deliver the piece.  The collective is made up of several talented individuals, with a combined industry experience of more than 50 years.

The lead artist and designer on this project was Emmeline North. Emmeline also created Urban Rewild at the Princess of Wales Shopping Centre.

Rebecca Appleby was the sculptor and ceramicist, Lauren Bower is the surface designer, and Steve Ryder is the illustrator.

David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth & Regeneration, says:

“This project is a great example, in miniature, of what we’re looking to achieve with the Dewsbury Blueprint as a whole.  It’s all about combining the past, present and future of the town – bringing Dewsbury’s historic beauty together with new developments to create something that’ll last.  We hope this piece, and other artwork created through the Creative Town Arts Programme, will bring a lot of joy to people who live in, work in or visit Dewsbury.”

Emmeline North, lead artist at Cubic Fruit, says:

“I absolutely love breathing new life into forgotten or obsolete items.

“Spotting the original four letters in their previous orange format provided the foundation for the concept that has evolved to where it is today. The design process has allowed us to work with some really interesting techniques and new materials to create the final outcome.

“The designs are inspired by my love of textiles as well as pattern and the fabrication of garments which of course is intrinsic in Dewsbury’s heritage.  The colours of buildings found in the town centre have also inspired the overall design, and I was thrilled to be able to apply these patterns onto a 3D surface.

“It’s also been great to source 100% recycled acrylic from British and European companies to form the casings for the ‘s’ and the ‘w’.”