Devised by composer Orlando Gough and produced by Artichoke, HERD took place around Kirklees during July 2023 as part of Kirklees Year of Music. The KYOM23 flagship project was a ground-breaking collaboration between artists, musicians and hundreds of schoolchildren and community members.
Early in 2023, I was asked by Huddersfield-based artist Dave Young, if I’d be interested in being part of a team of giant sheep makers! The project was a commission by Artichoke for Kirklees Year of Music.
I was staying in my bender at Ashbank Arts at the time I began the job and had taken in a rather traumatised rescue cat, who seemed to be scared of absolutely everything!
So I left the terrified cat alone to get used to her surroundings, and began the first of several weeks working in Huddersfield. The sheep building project was based in a previously abandoned Victorian warehouse, right next to Huddersfield station.
Arriving in the enormous warehouse I found several artists at work: welders, makers, textile artists – many of whom, it turned out, I knew already from other projects I’d worked on in the North West.
I was introduced to Dave, shown a pile of scrap metal and the largest sheep armature you could imagine, and I got to work. My sheep was Fethera, one of the 23 all design by Dave and Jane, and being created and covered in different ways by the artists, volunteers and students in the team.
The pile of scrap metal started to diminish fast as I began to weld, bolt, cut and transform the rubbish into a giant sheep fleece.
The following week I was taken to a scrap yard to collect more material. I’ve never seen so many discarded ironing boards!
I was also given the work of fabricating the armature of Fethera‘s head for another artist to cover in scrap denim.
Over the weeks, travelling back and forth, staying in the lovely Premiere inn by the canal, I was given many different jobs on the project, including helping to fleece the big mother sheep Aina, with naturally dyed cloth.
On returning to my bender one weekend I noticed a rather handsome tabby cat hanging around. It seemed that the shy rescue cat that I’d taken in had been venturing out and about after all, and had got herself a boyfriend!
Back in Huddersfield, as a special treat, I was given a new job, this time in the textile area, building the features and covering another sheep using wool and hessian.
Due to the huge effort of all those involved, the herd of 23 sheep were all finished in time and transported on flat bed lorries to locations all around Huddersfield for the Kirklees Music Festival.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get there to see, and hear, the HERD finally gathered for the musical finale in St George’s square but what an amazing project to have been a part of. Thanks Dave and Jane from Rag and Bone. for you amazing vison.
The cat had her five kittens a few weeks later!!
