Spirit of the Game

Each Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in the market town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire an extraordinary event unfolds. It is an exhilarating and ear-splitting spectacle relived annually from at least 1667 and reportedly goes as far back as the middle ages. It certainly features all the colour, excitement, violence and drama of a Shakespearian play.

Wheathills was commissioned in December 2016 to create a piece of art work to commemorate and record for posterity the upcoming game. Wheathills was presented with the challenge and creative opportunity by the retired GP and pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Dr Dallas Burston who was born and raised in Ashbourne and was awarded the honour of “turning up” the ball on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 28^th, 2017.

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