‘Valley of the Shield Horse’ is a three part TV series written to explore the relationships between the people and their environment in Skelmersdale, a new town in Lancashire. Created and developed by Gareth Hughes it was a progression of enquiries he was making through site-based interventions using disused or dysfunctional public space.

“Having produced and exhibited such artwork in the past, I often found myself influenced by, reflecting upon and drawn back to rich contexts provided by my observations and subjective analysis of Skelmersdale (which is where I grew up), primarily with the intention of making a substantial body of artwork there.”

Having produced the initial outline Gareth asked me to look at what he had written with a view to adapting it into a screenplay for film. This outline was very similar in a lot of ways to work I was considering at the time: a consideration of how much control and influence one has over their environment and the ramifications of self directed intervention on that landscape. Gareth’s outline and development was far in advance of my own at this point, and seeing the inherent quality in what he had produced we began collaborating on the project.

The final work is evidence of a true collaboration and shared learning and input, a culmination of a long process of research, observation and introspection the work developed and changed in the way all writing does, things came and went and it eventually became a TV mini-series rather than a film.

For myself the work constitutes a significant step forward in my artistic practice and helped rationalise and improve those observations and interpretations I was making before the outline hit my emails. I think the work has real quality and integrity and is something that both Gareth Hughes and myself are immensely proud of.

Valley of the Shield Horse Episode 1

Valley of the Shield Horse Episode 2

Valley of the Shield Horse Episode 3