ART students have dug deep to create an authentic WWI trench offering a glimpse of life on the front line.
Cleveland College of Art & Design production design for stage and screen degree students John Hartill, Graeme Shakeshaft, and Jemma Chisholm have brought history to life with their realistic replica of a British WW1 trench.
The 20ft portable artwork, which will tour across the region with living history drama group Time Bandits, was designed to give people living in the Tees Valley a first hand experience of life in the trenches.
Freelance designer and CCAD tutor Mike Myers said: “I was approached by John Sadler, military historian and art director of Time Bandits, who asked if I could create a 20ft trench, which could be moved to different venues, to help bring to life the stories of those who served in the Great War.
“I thought this would be a great project for our first year students and also a great opportunity for them to work with me as a professional designer rather than just as a tutor.
“With just four weeks to complete the trench it was a very ambitious assignment but one which they really took on board, working together in a very professional manner which has produced an outstanding result.”
The trench will form part of a series of events, exhibitions and activities entitled ‘Remembering Our War’ in an initiative being delivered by Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton Borough Councils and the Heugh Gun Battery Museum, Hartlepool, with a grant from the Arts Council England.
Jemma Chisolm, 24, of Middlesbrough, said: “The whole trench had to be made in foot square pieces so that it could be assembled and disassembled to tour across the region.
“Everything had to look authentic, from the hand stitching on the sandbags to the body parts made from latex and there was lots and lots of brown painting to do.”
John Hartill, 20, of Hartlepool, said: “It was great hands on experience getting to make the trench and it really threw us in at the deep end working to a deadline on a live brief for a client.
“The really good thing about the project is that it will be touring schools around the region where school children will be able to get a real feeling of what it must have been like to be in the trenches during the war.”
The trench was on public view at the Dolphin Centre Darlington on Saturday February 22 from 4.45pm – 6.45pm and The Grayfields Sports Pavillion, Hartlepool on Saturday March 8 from 6pm – 8pm with more venues to be confirmed later in the year.
For more information on opportunities at CCAD contact (01642) 288888 or log on to www.ccad.ac.uk.
