Quay Arts have partnered up with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway to celebrate their 50th anniversary at Havenstreet by arranging an online exhibition entitled ‘Off the Rails’.
The exhibition, which runs until Saturday 20th March, celebrates the 50th anniversary of moving locomotives and carriages from Newport to Havenstreet by showing artefacts, signs and memorabilia from the railway’s collection, as well as related objects and artworks.
It was originally hoped that the exhibition would be hosted at Quay Arts’ West Gallery, but the new lockdown restrictions have put paid to that idea. Instead, the display has been digitalized with works brought to life online.
As part of this exhibition, Quay Arts invited artists to submit work to respond to ideas around preservation, displacement and memory, and some wider themes on travel, engineering and movement, giving this exhibition a rich, contemporary feel, whilst retaining the narrative of the Island’s Steam Railway history. Works include painting, drawing, mixed media, digital, print, text and sculpture.
As a further response, artist-educator Ian Whitmore worked with 2 Island schools – Oakfield CE Primary School and Gurnard Primary School – exploring the heritage of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and have created work in response to the collection, resulting in 2 large-scale mosaic collages and a stop-frame animation film.
The first of the Island’s railway lines opened in 1862 between Cowes and Newport, but it was not until 1900 that Ventnor received its second railway and the Island rail complex was complete. However, by the mid 20th century, after 2 World Wars and a lengthy depression, it was not surprising that rural branch lines came under the spotlight and their economic status was in question. The 1950’s saw lines to Bembridge, Freshwater and Ventnor, all closed.
The Island’s steam-hauled railways were becoming a sad reflection of their former glory but still retaining a fascination for historians and enthusiasts as the Island’s isolation had seen the retention of antiquated locomotives and carriages, most of which had arrived as hand-me-downs from the mainland. It was then, on Sunday 24th January 1971, at 20:30, the last steam train rumbled across the Medina Drawbridge in Newport, high above the river and its quays, ending a chapter in the Island’s transport history and thus, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway was born.
Rare footage of the final move from Newport to Havenstreet on Sunday 24th January 1971 is included in the exhibition.
Exploring the works on loan and the artists’ and school’s responses, Quay Arts’ Visual Arts Manager Georgia Newman and Havenstreet’s Museum Curator John Paton have recorded a discussion, highlighting some of the works in the exhibition and its wider themes.
You can view the exhibition by visiting https://www.quayarts.org/off-the-rails-online-exhibition/.
