Doug Jones with Border Textile Group – Ducit Amor Patriae
Ducit Amor Patriae translated as Love of My Country Guides Me (or Us) is an installation created by artist Doug Jones and Border Textile Group.
The exhibition responds to the original use of the Gymnasium Gallery as a place for military training. It reflects on the experiences of soldiers who used it on a daily basis and lived in the nearby Berwick barracks.
Sixty figures, carved from wood and suspended on fitness swings, create a dense and poignant landscape of human activity and shadows. The mass of the soldiers is divided into three individual regiments identifiable by different colours of military fitness costumes. A group dressed as generals alludes to the hierarchy of individuals within an army while nurses and priests reflect on the human cost of war.
Jones has worked with eight members of Border Textile Group who have sewn fabric bodies and outfits:
Period costume maker Alyson Farmer created the three generals and former A&E sister Annie Robinson the three nurses; Blue regiment was made by Faith Robertson and her daughter Gill Curry; Green regiment by Sue Dodd and Lesley Abernethy; and Black regiment by Hazel Wight and Diane Chalmers.
Doug Jones uses domestic craft and consumable goods to create sculptures and installations that invite us to reflect on personal and collective experiences often triggered by events of historic and social significance, and the ‘production’ of heritage
Doug Jones lives and works in London. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Alieni Luris’, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, 2012; ‘Caeteris Paribus’, ASC Gallery, London, 2011; ‘Lares et Penates’, Ceri Hand Gallery, Liverpool, 2011, and ‘Non Sum Qualis Eram’, Exeter Phoenix Gallery, Exeter, 2009. Group exhibitions have included ‘Beyond Pattern’, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, which toured nationally during 2009/10.
In 2012 he attended a teaching residency in Guangzhou, Southern China, working on a large-scale bronze installation. This was exhibited in The Crafts Council Collection exhibition ‘Hidden Agenda’ shown at The Granary Gallery in Berwick earlier this year and is currently on show at The Naughton Gallery, Belfast.
He teaches Fine Art at Foundation and BA degree level with an emphasis on practical workshop instruction including drawing, woodwork, metal and plastics, textiles, sewing and printmaking.
Border Textile Group aims to inspire creativity with fabric and stitch. More than 40 active members from across north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders enjoy an exciting programme featuring top-class speakers and workshops. All are encouraged to share their skills and exchange practical ideas.
Meetings are held at Foulden Village Hall and visitors are very welcome.
You can see updates from members of the Border Textile Group about the work they have been creating for the exhibition here