Albert's Hand

This artwork was made in response to the story of Albert Shearsby who lost his right arm on the battlefield in Palestine in 1917. Within days, determined to make the best of it, he began to teach himself to write with his left hand. The subsequent collection of letters written to his family and friends immediately after the amputation display a moving story of determination, stoicism, the horror of war, love and friendship. Following a temporary injury to her own dominant hand, his granddaughter artist Kara Lyons decided to follow his example, and teach herself to write with her left hand over a period of one week in December 2020, almost exactly 103 years after Albert's injury. She painstakingly copied Albert's letters, displaying them alongside the originals as a way of engaging with her grandfather's experience. Albert's great-granddaughter, artist Martha Haywood, accompanied the texts with poignant and poetically sensitive sculptural artworks as part of this response. This collaborative installation was performed and exhibited at Gallery FRANK at Ebor Studio, Littleborough, Greater Manchester. Supported by Ebor Studio, documentary posts were also made during the performance on Ebor Studio's Instagram page. The cracked jug in the picture represents Albert's broken limb and the story of a personal family journey towards recovery and reparation.