Special meaning behind sculpture made of shirts

About 700 shirts have been donated to the Dancing Together project

A new art exhibition created from hundreds of shirts donated by people in Jersey has opened.

The Dancing Together project is made up of 700 shirts which hold special memories to those who donated them.

The shirts were hung from Charing Cross earlier this year before being taken down to be turned into the sculpture which has gone on show at ArtHouse Jersey.

The display at Capital House will be open to the public until 1 December.

Bruce Carnegie donated a shirt that reminded him of a friend who died from cancer last year

Bruce Carnegie was one of the people who gave a piece of clothing with special meaning to the exhibition.

He said the shirt reminded him of a friend who died from cancer last year, and who would have been glad it was part of the artwork.

Mr Carnegie said: “Drawing shirts together like this, which all have a history, and displaying them in a public space for people to look at, admire and criticise, are the sorts of things that make us human and make us a society.”

Artist Kaarin Kaikkonen came up with the idea for the sculpture

Finnish contemporary artist Kaarin Kaikkonen came up with the idea of the exhibition and turned the shirts into the sculpture.

She said the idea came to her after the death of her father.

"My father died in front of my eyes when I was a child,” she said.

“I felt his love more when I had his shirt on."

Ms Kaikkonen added: “Every shirt has the energy of the person who had been wearing it, so that’s why I want to use old shirts that had a previous life.”

It is also the first time Ms Kaikkonen’s work has been displayed with a soundtrack, which has been composed by musician and sound designer Päivi Takala.

The Butterfield Public Art Series is a succession of artworks across three years in Jersey’s public realm, produced by ArtHouse Jersey and sponsored by Butterfield.

People have been invited to view and explore the exhibition at Capital House