BICYCLISM
Bicyclism (2014) was an exhibition, performance and publication about the history and culture of cycling and the people who inhabit cycling in and around Leeds. It was part of the Yorkshire Festival 2014, a programme of arts and culture celebrating the Grand Depart in Yorkshire and ran alongside the Tour de France’s Grand Départ, the opening of the annual cycle race.
The project was a collaboration between Jenny Harris (producer), Boff Whalley, (writer and musician) and Casey Orr, (photographer, curator).
The exhibition, a site-specific installation in Leeds Museum, included portraits of contemporary Leeds cyclists, shown alongside archival images from family photo albums of Leeds people with their bikes. There was a continuous animated film by Ben Hall with soundtrack composed and played on bicycles by Boff Whalley.
The Bicyclism publication featured an essay by Whalley that considers cycling in its different cultural and historical contexts.