Introducing the Manchester collection
Unexplained Arrival
I moved to Manchester in 2006, more or less straight after I graduated from university. The questions often went in a similar vein, note that none concerned whether I was from here since, at the time, I had quite a pretty pronounced Merseyside* accent.
*(I will not say scouse despite others often identifying it so, due to reasons to be narrated at a later date)
“Oh, so you came to Uni here?” No, I went to uni in Leeds.
“Oh, so you’re moving here with someone?” Yes, but they’re not from round here either.
After a few more similar questions, the next was almost always “So why did you pick Manchester?”
These questions were always in the context of people who were pleased, but surprised, someone had moved here without one of the reasons one would usually expect.
I suspect that someone moving to Manchester these days does not get asked these questions. Manchester is now just somewhere people come to, it makes sense to everyone, it’s a place to be. I am not here to get into a debate about the politics and tensions behind that, it is just something that strikes me these days.
I wasn’t able to tell anyone why then, and to be honest I still can’t. It may be to do with family links that resonate in subconscious ways, it may be to do with the amazing tales I heard of Jilly’s Rockworld, or it might just be ‘because.’ What I can say is it just felt right and after almost 20 years, it still does.
I have a definite soft spot for Leeds, I enjoy visiting Merseyside, which is nostalgic and memory filled for me, Manchester felt like home from the minute I got here and it always will.
Lost Anniversary Project
When I had been living here for ten years, I had a plan to commemorate it in some sort of art form, triptych, mosaic or sculpture. On approach to that anniversary however, I embarked on a stage of my career that would end up becoming all consuming, so the chance was lost.
I didn’t let go of the idea and so in the last few months, once life had given me the time and the motivation to act, I restarted the idea of a tribute. In a different form to that which I initially intended but one that has developed in an interesting way. After twenty years here, it felt even more special to start this work.
It Started with a Tram
The first piece I embarked upon was of Manchester’s famous yellow and grey tram. An icon of the city and the start of something greater in the UK, the return of tram travel. I did not choose it due to any such profound or noble reason as this though, I chose it because I have a childlike appreciation of trams. I love the little ‘boop’ noise they make and I laugh at the large ‘honk’ noise they make as a driver has to clear the track in front of people, or vehicles, that feel that they can get across the road ‘just in time.’ I think the wonder may have something to do with a reminder of my globe trotting childhood and the wonderful feeling I’d have waking up in a new European city hearing their trams go by or below the hotel.
From there I got to thinking about the Etihad, which had also been built as a symbol of Manchester and that my husband and I used to live very close to. It has been here the whole time I have lived here but was still a fairly recent addition when I arrived, the B of the Bang sculpture was still out front. When I eventually made my way to see it, it had been hauled away.
Naturally, I could not make an Etihad without an Old Trafford. Indeed my rendering of Old Trafford through needle felt is not something I feel would please fans of the literal, however, its abstract shape and somewhat chaotic colour distribution give me the strong sense of the history and development of the place.
Conversely, the Etihad is more uniform and ordered, a reflection of the ‘newness’ in comparison, the fact that the sculpture is already out of date due to City’s recent stadium expansion fits in a way. I will make an updated sculpture and look forward to the challenge of recreating the new Old Trafford when it arrives.
After that randomly, pigeons spoke to me to be the next subject, since they are there but not noticed, until they annoy us in some way through no fault of their own. The added bonus with these are that they are very fun to make, the curling of the wool yarn in circles over the round felted bases is very satisfying to accomplish and I get to use sparkly thread which is always a nice effect.
During the Christmas period Zippy (for those of you who don’t know Manchester, he’s actually Father Christmas, not a cheeky chappy from a 70s/80s children’s show), naturally had to be a production. A Manchester icon which actually went away for a while but which is now back with a vengeance and everyone is pleased about the same. Even if on his debut, a lot of people were not convinced, myself included.
One could say the same in respect of the Beetham Tower and its more recent companions, whose dedications will be appearing alongside Beetham in my portfolio in the coming weeks. The recreation of the SimpsonHaugh monoliths have quite a cheeky title but make no mistake, it is definitely more tongue in cheek than complaint on my part. Although the towers are becoming more controversial for a number of reasons, to walk around them or see them from afar, I like them.
A Look into the Process
When it comes to process, I start with sketches to get my head around the kind of shapes that I will need to create. Then, the shapes commence through needle felting. What’s interesting during this time is that sometimes the shapes do go ‘off plan’ and they can often end up fitting better than the plan I originally had. I like this as it reminds me of how art is organic and pieces often take on a personality that you did not originally expect. This certainly occurred with the Beetham Tower sculpture, where the colour effect was not what I originally planned but ended up with an impressionistic outline of the building that captured the essence. The same story unfurled with Old Trafford, where the stadium ended up more patchwork than intended, however given the history and development of the place, this ended up feeling right.
Ongoing Collection
The Manchester collection is by no means finished, I find inspiration in this city so often it will probably never be over. Further items to reach the collection will start to explore other mediums and experimental hybrids which will be documented here, as this and other conceptual collections grow. Of course some pieces will just be for fun, not everything has to be deep and meaningful. Just like I couldn’t explain exactly why I arrived here, this collection will likely grow in ways I did not entirely plan.
“I love this city. Its mess. Its noise. Prozzies. Drunks. Stray dogs, little old men….” – Gene Hunt, Life on Mars.
If you like, you can view this collection HERE
See the rest of the stories which are behind my studio and art HERE