Part of ‘Nichts blieb unverändert außer den wolken’, Braunschweig, this video accompanies the comfort blanket of the same title ‘A shared Stitch’.
Renew Recycled Cotton 195gsm fabric, sublimation print, thread, video projection on ceiling above comfort blanket.
Stitching collaboration between AJW, Linda Dunn, Bethan Ward, 2025–26
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The Grateful Web, Episode 23 by Dr Jo Clements: Weaving Connections with Alan Ward and Jeffrey Knopf
Dr Jo Clements interviewed us about our collaboration and the ‘Nothing remained unchanged but the clouds’ publication and community engagement. We spent a lovely hour and a bit chatting about working together, and my community engagement.
“Welcome to The Grateful Web with Dr Jo Clements. This week I’m joined by artists Alan Ward @alanjward_axisdesign and Jeffrey Knopf @jeffrey_knopf to talk about their collaborative exhibition ‘Nothing Remained Unchanged but the Clouds’.
Do tune in to this fascinating conversation about a project that started out with one slide bought on ebay during lockdown that developed into an amazing collaborative project with participants from a whole French village.
Developed through eventual residencies in Grandpré in the French Ardennes, the project weaves together photography, text, 3D scanning, and community participation to create a kind of living archive — where fragments of memory (personal, historical, imagined) are held, reshaped, and seen anew.
Alan brings a deep sensitivity to narrative and sequencing, shaped by decades as a book designer, while Jeff’s use of mobile 3D scanning introduces a fascinating instability — where objects blur, shift, and take on new meanings.” Jo Clements
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nichts blieb unverändert außer den wolken
Alan J Ward und Jeffrey Knopf
nehmen Feldpostbriefe aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg zum Anlass, Menschen über nationale Grenzen hinweg mit ihrer Geschichte zu konfrontieren und in ein intergenerationelles Nachdenken über Krieg, Vergangenheit, Erinnerungen, Gemeinsames und Trennendes zu verwickeln. Ihre Ausstellung lädt zu einer visuellen Reise durch Bild und Text, Kunst und Archäologie, privates und öffentliches Gedächtnis.
Wissenschaftsschaufenster, Waisenhausdamm 8, 38100 Braunschweig
04.05.-13.05.2026
Öffnungszeiten: täglich 11:00-18:00 Uhr
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Nothing remained unchanged but the clouds: artist talk and UK book launch, Manchester Central Library, 5 February 6-8pm
Nothing remained unchanged but the clouds is an artist book in the fullest sense: a work conceived, shaped, and authored through artistic practice. Developed through sustained collaboration with the community of Grandpré in the French Ardennes, the book traces stories held within German WWI postcards and transforms them into a living archive of memory, material culture, and shared authorship.
The launch will take the form of an illustrated conversation moderated by an arts commissioner familiar with my practice. I will be joined by a small panel of academic, artistic, and language collaborators, alongside voices from Grandpré. Together, the discussion will weave local histories with contemporary perspectives, while reanimating the enduring connection between Manchester and Charleville-Mézières, the departmental capital.
With the support of Alliance Française Manchester, a special display of selected artefacts from Archives+ and the North West Film Archive has been assembled specifically for the evening. These materials document the shared histories between Manchester and the Ardennes, and sit alongside the themes explored in the book.
The evening will conclude with a question-and-answer session, offering the audience an opportunity to engage directly with the panel, followed by the chance to purchase signed, discounted copies of the artist book.
The event is free but please order a ticket via eventbrite
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Season’s greetings and best wishes for 2026
The photograph was taken during a recent artist residency on 26.11.25 at 10am, whilst listening to the Chemnitz Carillon being played from the town hall of Chemnitz, Germany. The carillonneur sits at a console,
a bench similar to an organ bench, and operates a keyboard with his feet and traditionally clenched right hand and open left hand. There is a key for each of the 48 bells. The keys are larger than on a piano and they are connected to the clapper of the bell by a long steel wire. Only manual operation makes it possible to strike the bells both loudly and softly and with gradations. As we listened it snowed, covering the 3D city map in the square.
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Podcast with Grandpré resident Pascal Etienne about the exhibition and book, on RCF Radio with presenter Jean-Michel Lesire
Click here to listen to the episode
Image: Pascal, myself and a member of the Tellier family discussing the postcards I had relating to the return of Emilie Tellier’s body after the war.
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Grandpré and Abbey of Chéhéry exhibition and book launch : 19th September
Thank you to everyone who came to the launch of the exhibition and French book launch, it was a splendid evening. Click here for some photographs from the installations across the public realm of Grandpré and the Abbey of Chéhéry.
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Book teaser
Here is a sneak look at the new artist book as I have had an advance from the printer, I’ve now added the tip-ins and stamped the board cover, all looking really grand!
And all artwork ready now for exhibiting in Grandpre starting 15th, where I’ll be showing work made over the last 4 years, including 3D work made in conjunction with Jeffrey knopf, with new pieces premiering in Grandpré and Abbaye de Chéhéry.
If you fancy a copy of the book of this project it can still be ordered at pre-launch price from my website alanjward.co.uk/shop – French orders https://axisprojects.bigcartel.com
Voici un petit aperçu du livre terminé : l’exemplaire préliminaire est arrivé, j’ai ajouté les pages intercalaires et tamponné la couverture grise. Il est vraiment magnifique. Un magnifique reflet du projet et de la collaboration. Si vous souhaitez toujours commander un exemplaire – sans y inscrire votre nom, bien sûr ! – vous pouvez toujours le commander sur https://axisprojects.bigcartel.com
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Final week for pre-order of ‘Nothing remained unchanged but the clouds’
Thank you to all those who have supported this publication to date. Don’t miss out by subscribing in advance, you not only secure a copy at a reduced pre-publication price, but you will also have your name included as a supporter. You will be actively supporting the realisation of this independent, community-rooted publication – ensuring that these shared memories and everyday histories find a lasting place in print and share the story of this place to a wider audience. See here for UK orders and here for European orders.
