Delicate shuttle
From 22 June - 7th October as part of the Great Exhibition of the North, Refugee Week and the European Year of Cultural Heritage, D6: Culture in Transit presented Delicate Shuttle, a newly commissioned artwork by Henna Asikainen for Newcastle City Library.
For Delicate Shuttle, Henna Asikainen created a delicate installation of thousands of white poplar leaves that weave together a tapestry of fragmented and foraged experiences, created through an exploratory process of foraging walks in the natural landscape with refugee and migrant communities.
Our landscapes and communities have been shaped by centuries of immigration and exchange. From our colonising past we brought people, food and customs, alongside seeds and plants that make up landscapes as diverse as our population.
Delicate Shuttle continues Asikainen’s interest in the social and ecological issues that arise from humans’ relationship with the natural world. Using the white poplar leaf, which holds many meanings across different cultures, Delicate Shuttle embodied the collective experience of migratory movement and reflect on our relationship with place, landscape, the world and each other.
“It was really lovely to see the welcome that people here give, and the respectful curiosity about similarities and differences. Watching the children climbing and playing on the magic tree was a highlight and the valley around Burnlaw is perfect Northumberland.” - Participant, Delicate Shuttle
Delicate Shuttle has provided 5 opportunities for direct engagement, involving 103 residents in the West End of the City in direct participation. 220 people attended our launch event, and the launch, exhibition and artist talk provided 128 days for exhibition, reaching 46,000 live audiences in the city and an estimated 208,000 online. The development and delivery of the work has also been supported by 2 volunteer placements from our participant group.
Delicate Shuttle was supported by Arts Council England, the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund and the Great Exhibition of the North.
For Delicate Shuttle, Henna Asikainen created a delicate installation of thousands of white poplar leaves that weave together a tapestry of fragmented and foraged experiences, created through an exploratory process of foraging walks in the natural landscape with refugee and migrant communities.
Our landscapes and communities have been shaped by centuries of immigration and exchange. From our colonising past we brought people, food and customs, alongside seeds and plants that make up landscapes as diverse as our population.
Delicate Shuttle continues Asikainen’s interest in the social and ecological issues that arise from humans’ relationship with the natural world. Using the white poplar leaf, which holds many meanings across different cultures, Delicate Shuttle embodied the collective experience of migratory movement and reflect on our relationship with place, landscape, the world and each other.
“It was really lovely to see the welcome that people here give, and the respectful curiosity about similarities and differences. Watching the children climbing and playing on the magic tree was a highlight and the valley around Burnlaw is perfect Northumberland.” - Participant, Delicate Shuttle
Delicate Shuttle has provided 5 opportunities for direct engagement, involving 103 residents in the West End of the City in direct participation. 220 people attended our launch event, and the launch, exhibition and artist talk provided 128 days for exhibition, reaching 46,000 live audiences in the city and an estimated 208,000 online. The development and delivery of the work has also been supported by 2 volunteer placements from our participant group.
Delicate Shuttle was supported by Arts Council England, the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund and the Great Exhibition of the North.