Underground Manchester

In the briefing lecture on 'Unit X' and the David Haslam talk, the history of Manchester in regards to the Industrial Revolution and its effect of society seemed to be a predominant theme. This is what led me to researching further, the city of Manchester's history and past as I thought it may be an interesting possible starting point for someone’s project, if not mine. Even if it wasn't going to be furthered in the upcoming weeks of my project, I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore as I do not have much of knowledge of the place I currently inhabit which may be viewed to some as ignorant. It seems quite disrespectful to turn a 'blind eye' to my home environments past so I guess, why do it here? 

Anyway, I came across information that immediately took my attention-Underground Manchester. I’m not sure if it's well known to others in Group Six but I found it to be quite appealing! After years of research, Keith Warrender has uncovered evidence of dozens of places alive under the city we see today. All of which range from the last two centuries. The official documentation was filmed by the BBC in a show called, 'Inside Out' but the video will not work on my laptop for some reason. I found a video made by 'I Love MCR' which might interest someone? 

Underground Manchester

In the briefing lecture on 'Unit X' and the David Haslam talk, the history of Manchester in regards to the Industrial Revolution and its effect of society seemed to be a predominant theme. This is what led me to researching further, the city of Manchester's history and past as I thought it may be an interesting possible starting point for someone’s project, if not mine. Even if it wasn't going to be furthered in the upcoming weeks of my project, I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore as I do not have much of knowledge of the place I currently inhabit which may be viewed to some as ignorant. It seems quite disrespectful to turn a 'blind eye' to my home environments past so I guess, why do it here? 

Anyway, I came across information that immediately took my attention-Underground Manchester. I’m not sure if it's well known to others in Group Six but I found it to be quite appealing! After years of research, Keith Warrender has uncovered evidence of dozens of places alive under the city we see today. All of which range from the last two centuries. The official documentation was filmed by the BBC in a show called, 'Inside Out' but the video will not work on my laptop for some reason. I found a video made by 'I Love MCR' which might interest someone? 

Our New Home.

The Hotspur Press.

 

Our location: The Basement.

 

The basement was last used as a printing ground, from newspapers and flyers to books. Yet now we see little trace of this; painted white brick walls that are slowly changing colour by age, a map of horizontal and vertical pipes attached to the ceiling, buttons on walls that probably should not be pressed, but most importantly space. Space which we should take over. You could call it our 'Undergroud Manchester.'

 

Together we formed a Group 6 working area and I hope with this space we shall all inspire each other with ideas and practices. Lets get inspired!

 

Aim at Hotspur:

• Get through alive.
• Fostering collaborations.
• Forging relationships.
  

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

Topophobia

Topophobia: a morbid dread of certain places. 

 Currently, at the Bluecoat gallery in Liverpool the exhibition on show is ‘Topophobia,’ whereby a group of 10 artist have responded to the anxiety disorder, topophobia, using many different medias and technologies.

http://topophobia.co.uk/ 

 

The link to the website will give you a glimpse of all the artists at the exhibition, however the ones in particular that caught my eye were Uta Kogelsberger, Louise K. Wilson, Anne Eggebert and David Ferrando Giraut. 

 

Uta Kogelsberger:

Her work was a collection of photographs taken from darkened and strangely lit places, places such as Urban American landscapes to the complete wilderness. The collection is supposed to symbolise our unconscious thoughts about space. 

 

 

Louise K Wilson:

Wilson’s work was based on the ‘Lost traces of space,’ in many of her works she likes to bring to light the certain absences and silences encountered in a place, uncovering its mysterious and secrets. Her video work incorporates both real and imagined landscapes.

 

I managed to capture a short one minute clip of her video.

M4H01326.MP4 Watch on Posterous

Anne Eggebert:

Eggebert uses drawing as a device to collapse distance and time. Working with images from Google Earth she uses repeated hatch marks to explore the landscapes of elsewhere – places once familiar that are no longer visited – or watercolours to depict holiday destinations that reveal the traces of a lost presence. She looks at how our actual and imaginative experiences of reality construct our perception and performance of place. The way images, books and films we fill our brain with inform the way we see the real world.

David Ferrando Giraut:

Giraut’s film was definitately the most dramatic piece in the exhibition. As you walk into the room you step into what will be a cinematic experience. The film is slow moving, showing the aftermath of a car crash that is set on a large green, open, space that has been taken over by the ghostly sounds. The slow movement of the camera, combined with the cinematic music encourages the feeling of anxiety and suspense.

 

What I took from this exhibition was not the ways in which these artists worked but the thoughts behind there pieces. I believe such ideas would be very inspiring for the project on Manchester, thinking about the way locations make you feel. How the media influences the way we look at certain places, do we imagine places that are not there? What secrets can we discover?

 

 

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See the full gallery on Posterous

Whilst researching ‘Underground Manchester’ further I came across the work of Andrew Brooks. Brooks is a photographer, a digital artist and film maker who draws inspiration from the contemporary urban surroundings in which he inhabits (Manchester). 'Hidden Manchester' was a project that was commissioned for 'Ubis' showing in 2008 and 2009. Brooks thoroughly explores the hidden part of the city of Manchester, awakening its history. 

I found these works to be particularly eye catching and interesting after watching the documentary on Underground Manchester. 

Bringing landscapes to the city...

Because I find myself continuously seeking ways to convey the environments in which I miss from back home in Ireland, in past projects, I have decided to explore ways of bringing landscapes to the city.

I recently read an article on this subject. It dealt with issues of how nature or the countryside is viewed as the antithesis of the city throughout modern history.  It reports how many individuals respond to the “dirty factories”, “multitude of noisy vehicles” and “buildings crammed on top of each other” by simply moving away from the city and into the suburbs if the opportunity arose.

In addition to this, the growing number of designers and architects who refer to themselves as “landscape urbanists”:”the notion that the most important part of city planning is not the arrangement of buildings, but the natural landscape upon which those buildings stand”. In other words, proponents envision weaving nature and the city together-an environment that I would personally love!

 

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Something that comes to mind when envisioning cities is graffiti. I have discovered an alternative approach to what may be viewed as vandalism, eco-friendly graffiti! Using liquefied mud, moss or even a power washer instead of paint conveys a ‘public greenification’.

For the past ten years, Paul "Moose" Curtis or "Professor of Dirt" has devoted his spare time to the fine art of defacing public surfaces with cleansing messages and beautiful pieces of art with the reverse graffiti technique.