Through Silver Lining, an off-site commission for English Heritage, Kitson honours a lost industrial past, utilising new technologies to create sculptural interventions in a former silver factory, celebrating the history and popular culture of Birmingham and the Black Country.

In 2008, English Heritage acquired the JW Evans Silver Factory in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, which began as a cottage industry in 1881. The workshops are preserved in situ, containing thousands of dies for the manufacture of silverware; the entire factory’s working equipment; and the workers’ ephemera, magazines and posters. Kitson sets up a dialogue between the heritage of the museum and Ikon, a contemporary art gallery celebrating its 60th anniversary. 

Kitson, whose practice includes designing and making jewellery, spent time working at a local silversmiths, learning processes and techniques similar to those of the factory workers. At JW Evans, Kitson introduces new sculptural works into the preserved site: a selection of silver pieces, including ashtrays, are placed among the original moulds; in the former Director’s office a Newton’s cradle made from laughing gas canisters is perched on the office desk; a hammer, apparently bent through telekinesis is found among tools; as is a Frosty Jack cider bottle cast in metal and a silver heroin spoon.

Tours of JW Evans Silver Factory are available to book here.

This new commission coincides with the artist’s first major solo exhibition, Rue Britannia at Ikon Gallery (10 May – 8 September 2024).

The exhibition and off-site installation are accompanied by a fully illustrated publication, the first monograph dedicated to Kitson, featuring an original essay by comedian Joe Lycett. A selection of Kitson’s original jewellery and designed accessories are available from Ikon Shop, including his internet viral Cigarette Scarf and Monster Munch ring. 

Dion Kitson’s exhibition is supported by English Heritage, The Foundation Foundation and Ikon Investment Fund and is presented as part of Ikon’s 60th anniversary year.