‘A Place Greater than Home’ – exciting new exhibition at Goole Museum

Goole Museum is starting 2017 with a new exhibition – ‘A Place Greater than Home’ – featuring the work of local photographer and filmmaker Debbie Harman. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, January 17, and runs until March 25.

Debbie Harman has been documenting her home town of Goole for over a  decade. The inspiration for the new exhibition is a road sign which proclaims that Goole is twinned with with Zlotow in Poland. Debbie spent three months in Zlotow, and experienced first-hand the difficulties that come with not speaking the language, and the feelings of loneliness and isolation that this brought.

The new exhibition explores the idea that home is not just a particular town, place or house, but is connected more strongly to the people you love and the time you spend with them.

The project formed part of Debbie’s MA studies at the London College of Communication, and she continued with it after graduating. She is currently experimenting with layering, capturing evocative, fleeting moments.

Debbie Harman said: ‘I wanted ambiguity in the photos – you cannot tell if it is Goole or Zlotow. This blurring highlights the similarity between the two places. I wanted to explore those feelings that come from being away from home and ask the question ‘What makes home, home?’

Curator of Goole Museum, Debbie Hardy, added : ‘It was great to work with a local artist and get this body of work exhibited in the town that inspired it. The creative talent in Goole is impressive, and to be able to promote this talent to a wider audience and for it to inspire others is one of the main reasons the museum is here.’

There will be a ‘Meet the Artist’ session at the museum on Saturday, February 18 from 12.30 to 3pm. Visitors will be able to ask Debbie questions about her work and the inspirations behind it.

Goole Museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Wednesday 10am to 7pm; Saturday 9am to 4pm. It is closed for lunch from 12 noon to 12.30 pm (Wednesdays 1.30pm to 2pm). Admission is free.

Full details of the museum and its exhibitions are at http://www.museums.eastriding.gov.uk/goole-museum/#