Platinum Jubilee art exhibition comes to Worthing seafront
It features images combining Her Majesty with pictures of the town's seaside heritage
Works of art combining pictures of the Queen's 70-year reign with images of everyday life in Worthing have been installed on the seafront to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
19 pieces have been put up at the Seafront Gallery, next to Worthing Lido, as part of One Of Us, created by artist Anna Brownsted.
Anna worked closely with Worthing Museum to source archive images of Worthing to use in the exhibition. Worthing residents were also invited to send Anna their personal photos and newspaper clippings of life in the town.
These images were layered with photographs of the Queen to demonstrate Worthing’s changing social history.
One striking panel features sisters Diana Worsfold and Gina Peckham at the christening of Diana’s twin children in 1964. The image is merged with one of the Queen and Princess Margaret to illustrate a combined sisterly bond.
Accompanying the images is an interactive component that uses a free, downloadable app to animate the artwork through layered video and sound.
Anna said:
“One of Us is about how we record our stories, how we choose to share these stories and how the grand narrative of the monarchy threads through everyday British life.
“During the course of my research I have fallen in love with Worthing.”
Cllr Lionel Harman, Mayor of the Borough of Worthing, said:
“The artwork here is one of many projects underway to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and I am honoured to have been asked to help launch so many of Worthing’s events.
“Most of us have only ever known Queen Elizabeth II as our monarch, so it is appropriate that so much time is dedicated to celebrating Her Majesty's life and service, but also our shared history and traditions because, after all, it is these that bind our communities together.”
As part of the project Anna also hosted a series of workshops at Worthing Museum for people to create their own A5 commemorative collages using their personal photos and a variety of material provided by the artist.
The collages have been photographed by the artist and collated into a book that she will send to Buckingham Palace as a gift to the Queen.
One of Us will be on display until the end of September.