The University of Salford is delighted to announce Mandy Cleveland as the fifth of six artists selected for new commissions for the Collection – aiming to capture contemporary experiences during the pandemic, as well as supporting artists who may have otherwise lost work. Read more about the wider programme here.
Mandy Cleveland, who has a studio at Hot Bed Press in Salford, works with found paper and used envelopes, combining drawing, collage and printing techniques. Attempting to capture some of the feelings of uncertainty at this time, Cleveland will create 6 new works on paper that encapsulate the domestic, the mundane, and life’s reflective moments. Cleveland says her concern when drawing is to capture a feeling:
‘it is not specifically about what is depicted on one envelope but how the pieces work in unison to create a feeling of something bittersweet, like an eye resting on one subject then another.’
She continues:
“Some of my moments during lockdown have been swinging from panic to extreme boredom – at the same time we are barraged with facts and figures in newspapers and on TV. Through drawing and work with paper, looking at some ideas, experiences of home life at this time, I want to try and capture the natural world, close to home, in the hope that it will show an individual viewpoint while reflecting on some of our shared experiences of this rather large pause.”
Assistant Curator, Stephanie Fletcher adds:
Mandy’s work highlights the strange time we find ourselves in: where daily, intimate experiences such as taking time to notice nature in the garden, are inextricably linked with living through huge-scale, global upheaval and uncertainty. Hopefully, this experience of slowing down, changing pace, and re-connecting with the environment will be able to endure in a meaningful way far beyond Covid 19. Mandy’s work will provide an important legacy of this time in our Collection.
Sean Rorke – Artistic Director at Hot Bed Press adds:
It is great to see Mandy’s work being recognised and supported through University Salford Art Collection and this special commission. I have been lucky enough to glimpse Mandy’s work in development over recent years and see the capturing of fleeting and intimate parts of life, and nature. Mandy’s work reminds me of the quote about the great photographer Robert Frank capturing the world “almost out of the corner of the eye” and seeing the world as it really is if you take the time to stop and look closely at the world around you. It is very fitting to be included in the Covid Commissions at a time of worldwide reflection and individual introspection.
Cleveland is an artist based in Manchester with a studio at Hot Bed Press. Her fine art practice is being increasingly recognised, alongside her work within local communities with her company Curious Crafty.
https://mandycleveland.com/
Hot Bed Press aims to support artists, promote printmaking and educate a wider audience in printmaking and related arts. It has been based in Salford since 2006, has an ambitious programme of development and is a key player in the Salford and Manchester arts ecology. https://www.hotbedpress.org/
University of Salford Art Collection is an ambitious and growing collection of over 700 works of modern and contemporary art, founded c1968. The Collection is actively developed through new co-commissions, working directly with artists in order to tell a story of now to future generations.
August 2020