Lost in Transit with StudioMADE
The Carriage Works, Denbigh, Wales
Background to the Carriage Works
The Carriage Works in Denbigh, built in the late 1800’s, was a manufacturing business for the construction of horse drawn carriages (probably for a variety of purposes – movement of goods, funereal, domestic travel etc). This three story building, in the heart of the town, had metal and engineering work on the ground floor, joinery / carpentry on the first and upholstery at the top with a void running vertically through all floors in order to raise and lower items accordingly throughout the construction of each carriage. After the manufacture of horse drawn carriages came to an end, the building was used for mechanical repairs for cars whereby the community could bring their vehicles and use the tools on site to make repairs etc. The first floor in the building later became a Turkish restaurant.
Lost in Transit
Lost in Transit invited three artists myself, Penny Hallas and Louise Short to respond to both the buildings journey and the nature of ‘carriage’ in its broadest sense. This took into account the movement of people / goods – past and present whilst also giving space to the lost, hidden and intangible social histories and narratives within the building and the town.
In one sense, the building is a vessel that holds the forgotten, the overlooked, the individual – voices and conversations, dreams, aspirations, tears – the overheard and the misheard, the footsteps, whispers etc… It is a container of the past but all the while anticipates the memory of the future. It also represents the movement of people in and out of the building, where the doors are leaky conduits allowing a wider narrative to be carried beyond the threshold.
