Murdered with Straight Lines
Drawings of Bristol by Garth England
Cover
This book of drawings by Garth England is part of the Future Perfect programme and was launched in Spring 2016. It is co-edited by Future Perfect curators Jes Fernie and Theresa Bergne and includes a text by Jes Fernie.
Garth England was a long-term resident of Hengrove and Knowle-West in south Bristol; Murdered with Straight Lines tells the poignant story of a childhood lived through a world war and its aftermath; the development of Britain's Welfare State and social housing provision; vernacular architecture, indoor toilets and fitted kitchens.
The drawings were discovered by Jo Plimmer, engagement curator of Future Perfect, when she visited Hengrove Lodge as part of the public engagement programme. Garth died in 2014 but he knew of our plans to publish his drawings and gave us his blessing. The title of the book is a reference to the response that his teachers had to his drawings.
A number of Garth's drawings are included in Nils Norman's curtain in Hengrove Community Centre.
The book is published by Redcliffe Press and designed by Polimekanos. It is funded by the Hengrove Arts Fund and the Hengrove Neighbourhood Partnership. This publication is now out of print.
The response to the book has been incredible - from local people, architects, critics, historians to artists and cultural enthusiasts - across the world. Recent press coverage in the Guardian, Hyperallergic, Bristol Post, Bristol Life and BBC Radio Bristol.