Preview: Zetland Exhibition @ The Masham, Middlesbrough (6th Aug – 25th Sept)

A new exhibition by Teesside artist Amy Davies explores the stories of Zetland Road, one of one of Middlesbrough’s most historic streets. Showing at The Masham, Middlesbrough until 25th September, the artwork looks at the lives of those who lived, worked and spent time on the street as part of the Zetland Road Artist Residency. The residency allowed Amy to carry out creative research on the area over a six-month period, resulting in a series of artwork reflecting the history of Zetland Road as a hub of travel, work and leisure.

The Zetland Exhibition is part of Celebrating Hidden Middlesbrough and is led by Navigator North. To feature alongside floor plans, architectural drawings, archival photographs and other materials, Amy created large-scale drawings paying homage to both the town’s industrial heritage and its proximity to the North Yorkshire moors, as well as giving a respectful but wry nod to the town’s historic Temperance movement, which had limited success in the 1800s. The artist created these artworks using ‘Zetland Ink’, which was made by dissolving steel wool in vinegar resulting in ferric acetat and then by adding Yorkshire Tea.

Amy, who also works as a cook alongside her career as an artist, adds: “The research that I’ve done as part of the Zetland project looked specifically at five buildings, and within that focusing on the class structures that would have existed back when they were built in the late 1800s. 

“I work in hospitality and have done for a very long time, so for me, class divides are still very much present in my day-to-day life. This exhibition allowed me to take a playful but meaningful look at class structures and the lives of those who have gone before me.

“I really hope this exhibition will give visitors and the local people of Middlesbrough a trip down Memory Lane. Hopefully, I’ve shone a spotlight on the hidden nature of some of the interesting elements I’ve uncovered through my research of this historic part of the town.”

The Zetland exhibition is free to enter in The Masham every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 4pm until 25th September. For more information go to https://navigatornorth.co.uk.