North East artist Joanne Coates has completed the first stage of her artwork commissioned by Parliament, commemorating the 2024 General Election, having met 66 candidates and travelled over 7,165 miles in the process.

Ms Coates, who lives on the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, spent 37 days on the campaign trail, visiting 38 locations from Orkney in Scotland to Ynys Môn in Wales and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex to Drumaness in County Down.

She took 541,881 steps and interacted with thousands of members of the public from every part of society.

Ms Coates said: "I’m committed to ensuring that the people – the length and breadth of our isles – are represented in this work, so I’m incredibly grateful for everyone taking the time to speak with me.

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"But my all-time favourite moments were canvassing and the in between moments, those away from the big events where you saw something a little more real.

"I’m still considering what the final work might look like, I work with different elements that come together to tell complex stories, and this is a complex story.

"I will be focusing on portraiture, people and places through photography and installation, key details of place and hints of election paraphernalia. I’m excited to share the result with the public in due course."

During her journey, she met several first-time voters and gained insights from differing political perspectives.

Memorable anecdotes included witnessing three Red Kite birds of prey over Henley-on-Thames, viewing two political ‘battle buses’, petting 48 dogs, and nearly missing the ferry on Shetland.

Once completed, Joanne’s artwork will be submitted to the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, to be approved.

The act of appointing an Election Artist began in 2001 and every election since has commissioned an artist to capture and document each General Election.