A LONDON artist originally from north Lancashire is now working a little closer to his roots with a project focussing on the best of local culture and history.

DJ Simpson, from Lancaster, has been busy over the border in Cumbria at the Coniston Institute, creating a sculptural ‘landscape’ that reflects both the history of the institute and the magnificent mountains that surround it.

It looks at the rich culture of the village institute from its origins as a place for mechanics through its reinvention by pre-eminent Victorian creative powerhouse, John Ruskin.

The installation also presents a collection of paintings never seen in public before which have been borrowed from Cumbrian houses, all from an era when the landscape was worked.

The paintings show scenes of people in the land, as well as early examples of the scenery that made Cumbria the blueprint for landscape beauty the world over.

'It’s All About the Landscape' revisits and reprises some these original practical and educational uses of the land, and combines them with suggestions for new craft industries, businesses or uses for this important community facility.

This is a real attempt to find ways to make the institute and the village survive.

The exhibition will be displayed at the Coniston Institute until December 1.