52 Princess Street, Manchester
Manchester & Salford Illustrated Exhibition
October 27th – 10th November
52 Princess Street, one of Manchester’s newer venues where creative communities seem to be in their element, describes itself as sitting in an area that is regarded as one of the city’s most cosmopolitan. Over the course of the past two weeks (October 27th - November 10th), it’s been home to the ‘Manchester and Salford Illustrated’ event. Professional artists and illustrators have been given the opportunity to produce a piece of work that represents Manchester and Salford, their inspiration ranges from people, places and generally anything that shows an iconic significance to Manchester.
The exhibition boasts two floors filled with limited edition prints all accompanied by a written exposition from the selected artists, each one profoundly different from the last - although the reoccurring theme of rain and general greyness returns from time to time. As if the exhibition couldn’t sound any more appealing, all proceeds raised from the prints (that can be bought online) are going to Wood St. Mission, a local family support charity.
Ben Lamb is a a man who’s got a history with all artistic things Mancunian: illustrating the Pica Post for Oi Polloi, designing the tote bag logo for Piccadilly Records and illustrating the cover of the Manchester gay arts festival brochure in 2008, to name a few. His contribution to the ‘Manchester and Salford Illustrated’ exhibition particularly grabbed my attention as he finds solace in “great signage, beautiful brick work, the way sunlight hits a facade, or simple sentimentality.”
- Ben Lamb
The work of Chris Madden, a free lance illustrator based in Manchester, uses various pop culture and historical references as a base for his work on show. With Morrissey’s ‘Vicar In A Tutu’ brought into character sliding down a banister whilst the wall behind him displays various framed pictures of Mancunian heritage: Boddingtons, L.S Lowry, Frank Sidebottom, Factory Records logo, etc.
Barney Ibbotson, who has a piece of his work included within the exhibition, described Manchester (in the paragraph below his artwork) as “deeply intertwined with industry and scientific innovation, and this is evident in the buildings, bridges, railways and canals that permeate the city. As an illustrator I’m interested in shapes, patterns and textures so I decided to focus on those that portray the city’s innovations and architecture, combining cotton, warehouse windows, cogs and wheels, railway tracks, early chemical symbols and a new version of Lancashire’s red rose to create what could be called a modern Manchester coat of arms.” His fascination with shapes and contemporary graphics is certainly evident.
.jpg)
http://www.manchesterandsalfordillustrated.co.uk/
http://blamb.co.uk/
http://www.maddenillustration.bigcartel.com/
http://www.barneyibbotson.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsofwoodst/sets/72157627812365533/
Words by Pete Field.
