Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The hall is now owned by the town and is known as Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery. The extensive landscaped grounds are now Chorley’s Astley Park.
Invited to furnish their gallery with artwork responding to the house and gardens, we visited the site during the closed season to access its treasures and collaborated to create a mixed-media show.
Gwilym Hughes made two series of etchings inspired by the artworks (paintings and carvings) on show around the house. These were converted into digital prints and paired as couples to reflect the current-day use of the house as a popular wedding venue.
Michell Robinson created an esoteric fantasy based on secretive sculptures to be found in the grounds, and his work included designs for statues, maps and models.
Oliver Flude found inspiration in the gardens during the winter months running up to the show and produced a collection of large-scale drawings and watercolours.
Martin Kochany attended as artist in residence and created archive boxes which contained spontaneous drawn and printed responses to the activities and behaviours he witnessed during his time in and around the building.