Manchester Gallery

A few days ago (before these bloody riots which stopped me getting into town for a bit), I stopped by the Manchester Gallery, hoping to find some well needed inspiration.

Upon entering, I was greeted with numerous works from local artists, such as this photograph, by John Roberts, named The Chinese Quarter (2003)

The photograph obviously shows renovation work that was carried out on warehouse buildings, which resulted in the conception of Chinese restaurants.

Dragon Boat: Strength and Pride (2004)

The above sculpture, consisting of earthenware clay, coloured glazes and transfer prints, was a joint project between members of the Elderly Project at the Wai Yin Chinese Women society, and artist Stephen Dixon, along with student volunteers Caroline Hunt, Karen Shapley and Joanna Haines.

Work on the sculpture was initiated by a group of Chinese people who moved to Manchester, who interestingly had never produced a sculpture like this one before.

The golden print stays faithful to traditional Chinese art and design, accompanied by fitting cream and olive tones. The sculpture itself is intricately detailed; no doubt a product of the large group of artists who created it.

Ceremonial Keys and Badges, bearing the Manchester Coat of Arms

The boat in the coat of arms symbolizes the beginning of Manchester's trade with other countries in the world, whereas the antelope represents the city's engineering heritage.

Injustice (2007)

Memories remain within,

No spaces in between,

Fearful journeys,

4 a substance obscene

Processed, tagged,

Scabby, stressed,

Mills tease

To scam a sweat so sad.

Dyeing, bronzed, enslaved.

By young people from Tameside and Trafford, and Tony Curry

The above two photos were from the same set piece, displaying mainly pop culture and the like which stemmed from Manchester, for example, photos of the Strangeways breakout and the Smiths album cover. Also included is a few posters of what appears to be nationalist propaganda.

 These two photos are from a piece covering an entire wall, named Oxford Road (2002) by Jim Medway.
The painting has given felines human characteristic, a concept known as anthropomorphism. The painting represents Oxford Road in Manchester, on what I can only assume is a weekend night out for these cats.
The lack of shading really works in this piece, along with the thin yet very pronounced lines. The limited colour palette also comes into account here; it gives the piece quite a light, childish look, yet of course, the context partially takes this out.


And that is the end of my little trip to the gallery. I had quite an eventful day in town that day. One of the initial reasons I went is to (wait for it) look for a nuclear bunker.

And I found it.

Apologies for the awful photography, but the camera I was using hates sunlight. But yeah, found this; which I understand leads to a nuclear bunker far underground and under Piccadilly Gardens. Of course, I couldn't get in, but I heard there was a World War 2 bunker elsewhere, which isn't as closed off. I may go check it out if I can find a point of entry.

Until then, farewell.

OH WAIT!

To keep you going, have this .GIF I made for the weekly challenge over at b3ta.com. This week? "Future Law Enforcement"