THE new exhibition at Gallery on the Green in Settle, which runs until August 14, takes its inspiration from a 100 year old tower built on a Blacko hilltop by local man Jonathan Stansfield.

It is said that Stansfield wanted to build his tower high enough to get a view of the Ribble Valley and beyond.

Photographic artist John Wright spent much of the 2020 lockdown walking within sight of the Blacko tower and was prompted to follow Stansfield’s example and raise his sights to higher and wider things, hence the exhibition, which is titled ‘Horizons – looking to the future inspired by the past’.

John has made full use of the limited space both in and on the outward facing walls of the Settle gallery, which being housed in a former BT telephone box is believed to be the world’s smallest art gallery.

Before entering the gallery visitors are greeted by a photograph of a waterfall occupying the whole of one side of the gallery.

The main exhibition mixes old and new photographs and includes stories and photographs of people alongside images drawn from the local landscape. On the other outer wall John explains the historical context for his work.

He says: “This presentation is an attempt to share a greeting with communities of Ribble Valley, linked to a tribute to Jonathan Stansfield.

“The material on view attempts to capture his spirit of determination through photographs, stories and tributes gathered along the way. It is a midsummer greeting to celebrate and enjoy!”

He adds: “The privilege of a professional life working with children of primary school age gave me the determination to acquire new skills in retirement and find ways of sharing these with others.

“Opportunities to follow new learning in higher education opened doors to develop ideas in a digital world. A chance encounter with one of the Gallery on the Green team led to me being invited to share my work in an original way.

“It’s a collection of works of art capturing a spirit of determination to move on to brighter times.

“A tribute to the past also through prints of Dales’ locations, watercolour paintings along with recent photographs of Pendle skies and links to stories of inspiration gathered from friends along the way.”