FISH + SHIPS x CULTURE ÷ NORTHERN GRIT = HULL
During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns Esther Johnson collaborated with 1 of 100 and designed two T-shirts, a Tote bag, and a turntable slip mat, to celebrate the the City of Hull's entwined maritime and cultural legacy, whilst raising money for UK food bank organisations — The Trussell Trust and FareShare.
Six Hull writers kindly supported the ‘SHIPS in the SKY’ FISH + SHIPS fundraising endeavour, by recording themselves reciting Philip Larkin’s 1945 poem 'The North Ship'. Esther edited these lockdown readings into the poetry film below.
The six writers are: Vicky Foster / John Godber OBE / Jennifer Hodgson / Reece Shearsmith / Matthew Sweet / Dean Wilson
Six Hull writers kindly supported the ‘SHIPS in the SKY’ FISH + SHIPS fundraising endeavour, by recording themselves reciting Philip Larkin’s 1945 poem 'The North Ship'. Esther edited these lockdown readings into the poetry film below.
The six writers are: Vicky Foster / John Godber OBE / Jennifer Hodgson / Reece Shearsmith / Matthew Sweet / Dean Wilson
Esther gifted her drawings of the ‘Three Ships’, and her favourite fish from Boyson’s ‘Fish’ mural (also in the Hull former Co-op/BHS building) to adorn two designs of an organic cotton, climate neutral T-shirt and a tote bag. ‘1 of 100’ who are producing the items are donating 30% of their profits to national food bank organisations — The Trussell Trust and FareShare.
Month-on-month, FareShare are distributing more than double the amount of food in Hull since COVID-19 started and The Trussell Trust have seen an increase of 122% in food parcels for children. The Trussell Trust have three branches in Hull – one close to the ‘Three Ships’ on neighbouring Waltham Street, and FareShare have a Hull and Humber branch, which in turn supports other charities like Lucy Beaumont’s brilliant Backpack Buddies.
Esther explained,
"When Richie from 1 of 100 asked me to collaborate, it provided a brilliant opportunity to help folks in Hull and across the UK.
The film and T-shirt imagery celebrates the City of Hull’s rich culture and history. Larkin’s adventuring, and hopeful poem, The North Ship, is one of my favourite Larkin poems and so fitting for the current lockdown. It's a sad testament of our times that food banks are necessary. I've volunteered and donated to food banks and seen the direct difference that food donations can make. There are folk up and down the country working hard to help others in more need than themselves. Our six writers each put their individual stamp on reciting and filming the poem and I hope it does a really good job of spreading the word and help others in need."
Richie Hume of ‘1 of 100’ said,
"I’ve been following Esther’s arts project and also the mural preservation campaign, and I’ve been itching to collaborate; the Three Ships is such a strong, proud, resonant image. The men of Hull were still risking life and limb to put food on the nation’s tables when the mosaic was finished in 1963. Esther’s two designs take inspiration from the mural and original artwork by Boyson and also the neon sign from the last nightclub in the building, Romeo’s & Juliet’s."
The initial T-shirt and Tote print run SOLD OUT on 23 June 2020, however by popular demand we decided to do a print re-run. YEAAAHHHHH
*** 2021 Update: APOLOGIES ALL ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD OUT ***
Month-on-month, FareShare are distributing more than double the amount of food in Hull since COVID-19 started and The Trussell Trust have seen an increase of 122% in food parcels for children. The Trussell Trust have three branches in Hull – one close to the ‘Three Ships’ on neighbouring Waltham Street, and FareShare have a Hull and Humber branch, which in turn supports other charities like Lucy Beaumont’s brilliant Backpack Buddies.
Esther explained,
"When Richie from 1 of 100 asked me to collaborate, it provided a brilliant opportunity to help folks in Hull and across the UK.
The film and T-shirt imagery celebrates the City of Hull’s rich culture and history. Larkin’s adventuring, and hopeful poem, The North Ship, is one of my favourite Larkin poems and so fitting for the current lockdown. It's a sad testament of our times that food banks are necessary. I've volunteered and donated to food banks and seen the direct difference that food donations can make. There are folk up and down the country working hard to help others in more need than themselves. Our six writers each put their individual stamp on reciting and filming the poem and I hope it does a really good job of spreading the word and help others in need."
Richie Hume of ‘1 of 100’ said,
"I’ve been following Esther’s arts project and also the mural preservation campaign, and I’ve been itching to collaborate; the Three Ships is such a strong, proud, resonant image. The men of Hull were still risking life and limb to put food on the nation’s tables when the mosaic was finished in 1963. Esther’s two designs take inspiration from the mural and original artwork by Boyson and also the neon sign from the last nightclub in the building, Romeo’s & Juliet’s."
The initial T-shirt and Tote print run SOLD OUT on 23 June 2020, however by popular demand we decided to do a print re-run. YEAAAHHHHH
*** 2021 Update: APOLOGIES ALL ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD OUT ***
Tigers Amber · Black T
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Airlie Birds All Blacks · Black T
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Rovers Robins · Red T
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SOLD OUT
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#TeamHullFolk have been asking for more FISH + SHIPS T’s, so we’ve listened! You know eradicating food poverty is close to our hearts, so we’ll be printing these new charity T's with 30% of profits going to FareShare Hull. We hope you like the delightful #TeamHull colourways as much as we do. Collaborating once again with the wonderful folk over at 1 of 100 pre-orders will be taken from 2 November, a little late for Halloween, but definitely in time for Christmas.
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#EndFoodPovertyFareShare Hull
30% of the profits from these new SHIPS in the SKY T-shirts, go to FareShare Hull. Donations can also be made directly to FareShare by texting ‘MEAL 10’ to 70480 to donate £10*. As well as your generous donation you will be charged for a standard rate message. Donations can also be made here: https://fareshare.org.uk/help-us Registered Charity in England & Wales (1100051) |
LOCKDOWN CHARITY T-SHIRTS / TOTES / SLIP MATS · #EndFoodPoverty
Nightclub Neon · Black T
Inspired by Romeo's & Juliet's nightclub, open between 1978 – 1992
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FareShare
30% of the profits from the SHIPS in the SKY neon/black T-shirt and Tote, go to FareShare. Donations can also be made directly to FareShare by texting ‘MEAL 10’ to 70480 to donate £10*. As well as your generous donation you will be charged for a standard rate message. Donations can also be made here: https://fareshare.org.uk/help-us Registered Charity in England & Wales (1100051) |
Boyson's Blues · Grey T
Inspired by Alan Boyson's original artwork for the Three Ships mural.
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The Trussell Trust
30% of the profits of the SHIPS in the SKY Blue T-shirt go to The Trussell Trust. Donations can also be made directly to the Trussell Trust via text. To make a donation, text 'TTCOMMUNITY 5' to 70450 to donate £5. This costs £5 plus a std rate msg. Alternatively, you can opt to give any whole amount up to £20. www.trusselltrust.org Registered Charity in England & Wales (1110522) and Scotland (SC044246) |
Boyson's Blues · White T
The back of the T-shirts feature Esther's drawing of her favourite fish from Alan Boyson's FISH mural.
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The Trussell Trust
30% of the profits of the SHIPS in the SKY Blue T-shirt go to The Trussell Trust. Donations can also be made directly to the Trussell Trust via text. To make a donation, text 'TTCOMMUNITY 5' to 70450 to donate £5. This costs £5 plus a std rate msg. Alternatively, you can opt to give any whole amount up to £20. www.trusselltrust.org Registered Charity in England & Wales (1110522) and Scotland (SC044246) |
SHIPS in the SKY · Grey Tote
Who doesn't love a handy TOTE for their shopping?
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FareShare
30% of the profits from the SHIPS in the SKY neon/black T-shirt and Tote, go to FareShare. Donations can also be made directly to FareShare by texting ‘MEAL 10’ to 70480 to donate £10*. As well as your generous donation you will be charged for a standard rate message. Donations can also be made here: https://fareshare.org.uk/help-us Registered Charity in England & Wales (1100051) |
SHIPS in the SKY
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We've printed a turntable slip mat in homage to all the amazing DJ's who have graced the various incarnations of clubs in the former Hull Co-op: Skyline Ballroom; Bailey's; and Romeo's & Juliet's.
Many DJ's started their career in these nightclubs, including: BAILEY's DJs Charlie Hanna / Tim Jibson / Geoff King / Steve Massam / Pete Rob / Paul Rusling / Geoff Skipsey / Steve Tong Did you know that Bailey's hosted some of the first Northern Soul nights in the UK? |
Music intro to Jimi Hendrix's 'Hey Joe' from his infamous performance at the Monterey Pop Festival on 18 June 1967, just 3 months after playing in Hull's Skyline Ballroom on 9 March 1967.
On a cold night in November 1991, more than 200 police officers stormed Romeo’s & Juliet’s in a notorious large-scale police drugs raid. It was the biggest drugs operation ever seen in Hull at the time. The club was permanently closed down after this.
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The North Ship poetry readers
Vicky Foster on Philip Larkin
“I live a few doors down from one of Larkin's old houses, and I had a postcard with his photo on it, that the Larkin society had sent me, on a pin-board on my desk while I was reading the poem. I kept apologising to it every time I got a line wrong and had to start again! He's a very real presence in the city for me, especially in places associated with him. I used to get the same feeling when I was studying in the university library, like he was looking over my shoulder sometimes, and shaking his head." |
John Godber on the Three Ships
"I think the mural in Hull is really important because it's part of Hull's heritage. I've been here for nearly 40 years and whenever you see it it's a reminder of what the city is all about and what made the city. As we move forward in really uncertain and unfamiliar times, things that give us a terra firma and remind us of where we are and why we are in a certain place, are really important." John Godber on Food Banks "I think it says something about us as a society, and where we're going as a country, when we see the growing number of people who are in need of using food banks. I'm happy to support those people in whichever way possible." |
Jennifer Hodgson on the Three Ships
"I love the Three Ships mural so much that I ended up getting a tattoo of it. To me the Three Ships is going up town with your mam on a Saturday morning. Getting off the no. 12 bus and looking up at this massive glittering thing. To me getting a tattoo that symbolises the essence of Saturday morning felt like a good thing to do, so I did it. But I also think the Three Ships is a really important and significant monument to the culture and the history of the working class in Hull, and it seems totally bizarre to me that anyone would ever want to knock it down." |
Reece Shearsmith on Philip Larkin
“I don't have a connection with Larkin, although recently I unveiled a statue on the campus at Hull University and was allowed a tour of his office. It was absolutely fascinating and it was a thrill to see his reading glasses! I really wanted to put them on! Here they are! As a patron of Yorkshire, (yes I actually am!) and an Honorary Doctor of Hull University, Larkin is undoubtedly an inspiring local literary figure. It was a pleasure to be part of The North Ship reading.” Reece Shearsmith on the Three Ships and Food Banks "Let's do everything we can to try and preserve the Three Ships mural in Hull City Centre. It is such an iconic structure for the city and one of the city's great architectural triumphs. It's been there so long and I have such find memories, and not just for me, but I'm sure for a lot of other people who grew up in Hull enjoying that illuming presence and magnificent structure. It would be such a shame if we look back and it's gone. Let's all get behind keeping that building, and that beautiful mural, where it rightfully belongs in Hull town centre." |
Matthew Sweet on Philip Larkin
“Philip Larkin is my favourite poet. One of my mum’s school friends worked with him at Brymor Jones Library. She got him to autograph a copy of the Whitsun Weddings. It’s a bit water-damaged but that’s our only family heirloom.” Matthew Sweet on the Three Ships and Food Banks "The Three Ships have been moored in Hull all my life. They’re a symbol of the city, and a symbol of modernity. But it’s not a simple, sunny image - if you’re from Hull you know that those ships suggest the possibility of danger and risk as well as prosperity. But in 1963, when they were built, I think few people would have predicted that an institution like the food bank would be necessary. So perhaps those ships also demonstrate that it’s possible to navigate our way to a society in which they’re no longer needed." |
Dean Wilson on Philip Larkin
“When I was seventeen I worked on a youth government training scheme as a porter at Hull University. Larkin was my boss. I used to take parcels to his office sometimes. He was always nice and polite, but I was very shy and in awe and tongue tied around him.” Dean Wilson on Food Banks “I wish we didn’t need foodbanks and I’ll be glad when they’re a thing of the past. Hopefully we’ll have a competent and caring government soon." |
Podcast
Listen to Esther talk about the project charity campaign with Lyn Lockwood on The Philip Larkin Society podcast 'Tiny In All That Air' HERE at 18'20''
The North Ship by Philip Larkin (1945)
I saw three ships go sailing by, Over the sea, the lifting sea, And the wind rose in the morning sky, And one was rigged for a long journey. The first ship turned towards the west, Over the sea, the running sea, And by the wind was all possessed And carried to a rich country. The second ship turned towards the east, Over the sea, the quaking sea, And the wind hunted it like a beast To anchor in captivity. The third ship drove towards the north, Over the sea, the darkening sea, But no breath of wind came forth, And the decks shone frostily. The northern sky rose high and black Over the proud unfruitful sea, East and west the ships came back Happily or unhappily: But the third went wide and far Into an unforgiving sea Under a fire-spilling star, And it was rigged for a long journey. |
FISH + SHIPS
Photographs and Selfies sent in/posted on social media #fishandshipshull
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The R&D project phase has been funded by James Reckitt Library Trust
in partnership with Untold Hull at Hull Libraries, and with the support of the Art and Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University and Hull Trinity House Old Boys' Association |
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