I was inspired by the Noah’s Ark animals to create an array of animals from collected wine bottle wire, as a lockdown activity.

I then placed some of the mini sculptures into a large scale charm bracelet art piece. As a dancer and choreographer (who normally does community dance and shows at festivals for a living), I have turned to art/painting as a creative outlet during lockdown. I enjoyed trying to get a sense of form and motion into the wire.
​
Thank you for inspiring a creative task, to be done at home."

Ruth, M16

Set of Noah's Ark animals, painted wood, British or German, 19th century

The Noah’s Ark animals and the Ark itself appealed to me because it looks like it has been played with so much and lived to tell a tale of survival.

It’s as though the handmade figures have continued to be formed by hand through play and handed on for us to handle with care in the archive. I’m assuming they’re handmade as a unique collection, although for all I know the set might even have been produced many times… ​I especially like the pink llama-looking creature and the way that it’s legs have been mended with dressmaking pins.

The animals made for the No! Ah! project were based on these, so in a way they continue to be story-telling toys. In this project, Platt Hall itself became the Ark that the animals set off to a year ago when Manchester City Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019.

​As with the climate emergency, there is much to be said and done which won’t wait, and didn’t, as the TSAP project was commissioned and delivered in the time Platt Hall was closed during the Coronavirus pandemic."

Jackie, M14


​
To follow the animals' adventures see https://art.tsap.uk/jackie-haynes/.
For more information about the TSAP project see TSAP @ Platt Hall 2020.