GROWING up in the tightly packed terraces of Darnall, in the shadow of Nunnery Colliery, George Fullard spent his boyhood playing fast and wildly inventive games amongst the busy alleys and yards. Here, he felt he was “free to play 50 parts in one morning, to fly, to sail.” His memories of the unbridled freedom of childhood play remained a reference point for Fullard throughout his career and gave him a lifelong empathy with working-class life.

Living in a Sculpture, the latest exhibition at Sheffield’s Graves Gallery, explores Fullard’s life and work from the perspective of his Sheffield childhood, tracing his artistic development from his early days spent observing the city streets. Providing an insight into the breadth of his creative output, the exhibition has been developed in collaboration with the George Fullard Estate and Gallery Pangolin.

George Fullard was the youngest of six siblings and grew up in a working-class family with strong socialist beliefs and a commitment to trade unionism. His father, also named George, was a communist and union activist who worked as a miner at Nunnery Colliery throughout Fullard’s early childhood.