On Weathering
I have recently read a book called On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time, by Mohsen Mostafavi and David Leatherbarrow. It suggests that rather than viewing weathering on buildings as being a negative thing, it can instead be viewed as a positive thing which adds to and enhances buildings.

I am interested in the idea that through weathering a building will take on the qualities of the place it is situated, an idea that clearly links in with ideas to do with local distinctiveness. The various markings formed through exposure and the layers that are revealed through erosion; allow one to recollect earlier stages in the history of the building.

As I start to think more about nature versus the built environment, I am interested in the idea of surface modification as showing the rightful claim nature has over the built environment, reminding us that buildings are in fact made out of matter making the earth their fabric.

Work work.

Here are a few photographs from the exhibition Work including a nice one of all the artists. The preview was busy with lots of cakes being ate and beers being drunk. Hopefully some engagement with the art as well!

                                Tiago Duarte

                                                  Sarah Redfern

                                Frances Blythe

                                Clara Casian

                                                 The Artists

To read more about the artist's work featured above please follow the link to an article on the exhibition: http://www.thehivemanchester.co.uk/latest-news/the-hive-a-hub-of-creativity

WORK: Exhibition at HIVE 

Here is the information and poster advertising the exhibition that I will soon be taking part in.

 Fine Art MA students from MMU will be exhibiting their mid semester work at the HIVE from 21st until
25th May.
 
Opening May 21st 6-8 pm
 
From
the beginning of their course these artists have been invested in a
close and deconstructive scrunity of their respective mediums. These
include painting, photography, sculpture, printing, drawing, video.
 
Frances Blythe, Maire Byrne-Gascon, Clara Casian, Tiago Duarte, Evi
Grigoropoulou, Judith Hill, Victoria Mykytiuk, Jo McGonigal, Pitikasem
Nilavongse, Sarah Redfern, Eileen O Rourke, Hannah Wiles 

Monotony (Series 3)
Continuing with the Monotony Series I worked on the railings that surround All Saints Park. This series has been attempting to address the homogenising forces that result in identical street furniture, paving and railings being implemented in our cities. If we continue with this strategy I would suggest that we are headed for a very bland and boring urban environment indeed. This is not to say that the corporate powers that be should start a production line of bins that are each slightly different. I am not interested in difference for its own sake. It is about recognising the richness that comes organically with heterogeneity, history, culture and ecology.

I cut each of the 210 letters out individually and I like the idea that no two letters will therefore be exactly the same. I returned to the park a few days after I had put the letters up to find that somebody had removed the 'MONO' part of each word, leaving the name 'TONY' repeated around the park. I would like to think that this was carried out by a Tony or somebody who is rather taken by somebody called Tony. Either way, I love the element of interaction that this has introduced to my work.

Manchester's Vacant Space Consultation
I was contacted by Manchester Creative Collective (MCC) and asked if I would take part in Manchester's vacant place consultation. As part of the Manchester Beacon for Public Engagement, Manchester Creative Collective (MCC) in collaboration with MMU and the Manchester Architecture & Design Festival, have been commissioned to undertake a consultation project to investigate the current use of space in Manchester.

They required one person from each of the core groups: public sector; development; academia, architecture/design; creative; and community to take part in speakeasy-style conversations around vacant space and place making. Due to my interest in such topics I was asked to represent the creative group.  Their key aim is to understand the barriers to using vacant buildings and to find out what community groups can do to contribute to place making.

The discussion took place in a shipping container in Piccadilly Gardens as part of Future Everything. It was fascinating to talk to people from other disciplines and gain their perspective on the subject. I'm not sure that we really came up with any  answers as such but it was a healthy discussion that I feel could have gone on for much longer then an hour.

The conversation was recorded and will be stored in an open-data audio-visual archive for Manchester, with the data collected being used to highlight the key issues. A blog is going to be set  up to keep everyone up-to-date with the progress of the project. I will post the link as soon as it has been set up by MCC.

Monotony (Series 2)
Continuing with the work I started on the theme of 'Monotony', I have completed a second piece of work which spells out the word Monotony on twenty-four separate bins that all follow each other consecutively down Oxford Road. As you can see all the bins used follow the same standardised design and there are hundreds of these bins all over Manchester.

I have used Photoshop to collage all twenty-four bins onto one page. I felt that this was necessary due to the fact that when you apply for opportunities they often require that you submit up to only 3 images of your work. There is noway therefore that I would be able to submit this piece of work as it comprises of twenty-four different images.

This is the first time I have learned to do this with my images and I am pleased with the result. I am however wary about losing the form of  the work as there is something nice about the images being printed out individually as A5 photographs. I am also interested in seeing the images as one continuous line that you have to scroll across to see.

Place Beyond Place
I attended a one day symposium in Preston called Place Beyond Place. The symposium aimed to analyse the impact of the global on the local, looking at urban design, public art and regeneration. I was particularly interested in attending due to my interest in local distinctiveness.

It was an absorbing day with talks from Loraine Lesson, who has worked on socially engaged projects around the theme of urban regeneration since the 80's, and Paul Goodwin, who has recently carried out a research project on 'Re-Visioning Black History'. A key point for me in Paul Goodwin's talk was the consideration of modernism as dehumanising. He talked about the idea of vernacular architecture, sighting 'shanty towns' as an example of the people's architecture and mentioned a book in relation to this called, 'Learning From Las Vagas', which I am keen to read.

In the afternoon we went on 'alternative' guided tours around Preston, exploring the city through its social, cultural and natural connections to other, global places. I thought that this was a really interesting idea and I was fascinated to see how the four different artists conducted their tours. The two that interested me the most were William Titley's and Rebecca Chesney's.

William gave an experience of Lahore through the streets of Preston, which linked with my interest in how we interpret place through our own personal associations. (Picture Credit Above: William Titley, Road Block)

Rebecca on the other hand gave a tour of weeds around Preston questioning where the plants have come from and examining the ever changing urban environment alongside human activity. This connects with my interest in nature verses the built environment and how the two sit together. (Picture Credit Below: Rebecca Chesney, Dandelion)

You can read more about the symposium here: http://www.placebeyondplace.info/