John Bull Arch

Working with young people at the City Academy and 2 local pensioners’ groups, artists Bill Hudson and Jill Newman transformed a derelict railway arch with cast iron artwork based on biscuit shapes inspired by the history of the local Peak Freans biscuit factory.

At the City Academy the young people worked through design and mark making inspired by local stories of the history of the biscuit factory. They created small maquettes in plasticene.

From these maquettes, Art in the Park designed and organised the installation and the size and scale of the work to be sent to the foundry. The group then came to the Art in the Park studio and made full size relief sculptures in plasticene. The artists then prepared the models for casting.

The elderly groups met at the Biscuit factory itself which has now been converted to office and studio space. Their workshops were based in the building that used to produce the Jammy Dodgers biscuits. Using historical references, this group also produced relief sculptures which were then foundry cast and primed.