Tapestry part of new exhibition at mining museum

An exhibition that captures the lives and memories of mining families across the UK has opened.

The work, which combines two inflatable sculptures, physical tapestry and a digital animated video, is on show at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield.

The artwork has been created by the artist Jason Wilsher-Mills, who himself is the son of a Wakefield coal miner.

Funded by Arts Council England, the exhibition will be at the museum for the next year.

Wilsher-Mills said: "The National Coal Mining Museum is a place I have always enjoyed visiting, as I grew up in a predominantly coal mining community.

"As an artist who creates work about working-class life and experiences, there could not have been a better fit between myself and the museum."

The tapestry depicts the artist's personal story growing up in a coal mining family and was created with the help of Flanders Tapestries in Belgium.

Visitors can also access an animated film via a QR code, which uses audio interviews to bring to life people's experiences of life in a pit community.

Lynn Dunning, CEO of the museum, said Wilsher-Mills' art was "engaging, inspirational and totally dynamic".

She added: "The history of coal is deeply embedded in towns and cities across the UK, and it is important that we reach out and give people a platform to share their precious memories."

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