Leicester Museums & Galleries have selected the artist and printmaker Mandeep Dhadialla to produce an artwork responding to Abbey Pumping Station, Leicester’s Industrial Museum.
"I’m thrilled to have been selected for this project, working on the commission is an absolute delight," says Mandeep.
Inspired by the Abbey Pumping Station’s magnificent beam engines and the recycling of waste into fertiliser, Mandeep is developing an artwork based on ideas of cyclical systems, where a series of events happen repeatedly in the same order, and their impact on the environment. Her linocuts reference the interconnected themes of industrialisation, the environment and water usage. This commission is part of a three-year programme of similar projects across Leicester Museums venues to provide local artists with access to Leicester Museums and the art collections to develop their practice and create new artwork.
'Steam & Seeds' (1 April - 4 June 2023) an exhibition of linocut prints by Mandeep Dhadialla illustrates a story of wastewater management through the lens of plants and Victorian engineering inspired by The Abbey Pumping Station. The exhibition will take place at Highcross Leicester, on the upper mall corridor to the left of the Zara retail unit. The exhibition will run over the Easter holidays from Saturday 1st April – Sunday 4th June 2023.
Mandeep will also be holding a free Creative Bookmaking workshop at Abbey Pumping Station on Tuesday 11th April, 1pm – 3pm. The original prints from Steam and Seeds exhibition will also be on display. The workshop is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Young children must be accompanied and booking is essential.
Mandeep Dhadialla is an artist and printmaker. Moving from Kenya to England in her teenage years, Dhadialla uses her experiences of finding home to create artwork. She explores how people and the landscape are in an interconnected exchange.
https://www.leicestermuseums.org/news/artist-commission-abbey-pumping-station-and-the-environment/