We've been visiting Salt's Mill at Saltaire for a long time. Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a perfectly preserved Victorian model village. Titus Salt was the owner of what was then the largest mill in the world. Having moved his business out of Bradford, he wanted to look after his workers and built neat, modern houses for them. The village included many mod cons: wash-houses and bath-houses with running water, a hospital, a library, a concert hall, a gymnasium and even a science laboratory. Very different from the slums of Bradford.
There is a David Hockney connection too. The artist was born in Bradford and Salt's Mill now sells many Hockney items, as well as hosting exhibitions in its huge spaces. Hockney is everywhere: paintings are mounted on the walls of the shops, he designed the menu template for the diner, and currently there is an exhibition so huge that it is housed in the attic space above the 4th floor.
The exhibition is Hockney's A Year in Normandie, a 90-metre scroll of the changing seasons at and around his home in Normandy through the year. Visitors walk along the scroll as it changes from season to season. There are echoes of the Bayeux Tapestry, which is only 40 miles from Hockney's house in Normandy.
During the Covid lockdown, Hockney spent longer in his house in Normandy than he expected and he started 'painting' on his iPad. He liked its portability, making it easier to get around his garden with the encumbrance of the 'paraphernalia' of painting. In 2020 he created 220 iPad pieces and stitched them together to create A Year in Normandie.
The colours - especially the sky blue and grass green - are very striking and have become almost a brand for Hockney. As well as the exhibition itself, these colours are seen in the book Spring Cannot Be Cancelled and other books connected with the exhibition.
