Armley-based photographer, Casey Orr, celebrates Leeds' textile heritage in her new exhibition 'Wool' which is currently being staged as part of this year's I Love West Leeds Festival and runs until the end of September.
Casey's images, some of which show the hands of the female workers who did the mending and sewing, form the first exhibition mounted at The Millspace, an exciting new arts space set within the heart of Armley Mills on Canal Road.
Her images reflect the connections between the people, particularly the women, of Armley and the textile industry which once thrived there:
She explained:
"The Leeds Industrial Museum was once the largest textile mill in the world.
"Armley was built on the wool industry with most residents having, at one time, some connection to textiles through Armley's mills and factories."
Remnants of a disappearing industry
'Wool' is a series of photographs about that disappearing industry and the remnants still found in Armley.
Armley Mills, and the district of Armley, grew out of the industrial revolution and was once home to much of the Leeds textile industry.
A large proportion of Armley's population was employed in textiles as recently as the 1970's.
Unlike the official history of Leeds's industrial past, told through the conquests of the owners and businessmen who built the mills and factories, Casey's Wool is a story told through the remaining small businesses and reclaimed spaces used now for other purposes, spaces built with the money of the industrial revolution.
Exhibition about people
It is also about women who did the making; the sewing, cutting and measuring, the hands that tirelessly did and still do the work.
All of these hands belong to women who worked for almost their entire lives in the mills and factories of Armley and the local textile industry.
These women (mostly in their 80s, the oldest 94 years old) started their careers after leaving school at 14. Now they meet weekly at Armley Helping Hands, the local organization that supports the elderly, knitting, playing bingo, eating lunch.
The mills and factories that once defined this area are virtually gone now, as cloth manufacturing has moved away.
Cheaper import prices means local industry can't compete
Clothes and textiles are mostly imported from China and India as local manufacturing is unable to compete with import prices.
Casey's exhibition looks at this disappearing industry in Armley and what remnants can still be found here.
The I Love West Leeds Festival runs from 3-25 July at various venues around West Leeds. For further details of any of the festival events visit www.ilovewestleeds.co.uk or call the festival infoline on 0787 058 1566.
This year's festival is funded by Leeds City Council West Leeds Area Committees, Arts Council England, Find Your Talent and the Co-Operative Group.
What do you think? Have your say in the comments section below.
