Posts tagged: Castlefield Gallery

Elliott Flanagan is a poet, writer and artist. He was born in Burnley, a post-industrial town in the North of England. His work explores class, subcultures, and personal and social histories. A period spent playing football, working in sales and holiday repping contrasted with a ‘hidden pursuit’ of art via film, music, television, fashion, and rare gallery visits. His work is an exploration of the sometimes jarring intersection between these co-existing lives, and an ongoing dissection of contemporary masculinity.

He works regionally and internationally using poetry, installation, performance, sound, text, filmmaking, and collaborative practices. He was published by Burnley Words Festival in 2023 with Pendle Press; commissioned by Venture Arts in 2023 with artist Barry Finan, and exhibited new work at The Whitaker, Rossendale in 2022.

‘A piece of something bigger’ explores contemporary masculinity through the prism of package holiday culture. Flanagan looks at the ideas entrenched in the male gender stereotype that saturated his youth – misunderstood and under pressure to ‘conform and perform’. The artist studies a tension from his own experience between one’s own consciousness and social expectations.

‘The traditional form of masculinity and its lack of complexity is subverted, as the viewer is party to glimpses of real honesty in the chaos. The film discusses the camaraderie that exists in relationships between men and the value of the communal experience therein.’

With music by William Brown and Ashley Snook.

Donely is a fibre artist specialising in rug-tufting using vegan materials. Wavy Lady is a hand-tufted rug inspired by a stewarding fellowship Donely undertook in 2019 at the 58th Venice Biennale, through the British Council. The work depicts a woman, hanging upside down, in the foetal position, tufted in various shades of blue. She represents vulnerability and the emotional experience of ‘falling in love with unfamiliar places; with atmospheres, with experiences, with strangers… the fleeting nature of these floating away in the water as quickly as they appeared’.

“Alena Donely’s practice has gone from strength to strength since graduating and completing her Salford Scholarship. The transition from university to being independent can be very challenging, with many adjustments including sourcing access to space and equipment. Through Alena’s own resourcefulness and dedication she has her built up her fully equipped workshop from where she can work on an ambitious scale and welcome people from all over the country and from overseas for her workshops and sharing of skills and experience.

The combination of the physicality of the heavy pneumatic tufting gun and the soft and colourful work it produces is not lost on Donely or the experience of her work. The tactile balance of the cold and the soft speaks of the expression of conflicting emotions. The roots of Donely’s practice flow from a personal place, drawing from her own mental health and telling her own story, whilst sharing works and a practice that is ever-accessible for others to engage and be inspired to both read and share their own experiences.

Donely’s welcoming and generous spirit of sharing has not stopped at the doors of her own studio –  since taking on her own space at Islington Mill she has been an engaged member of the community, extending to her active involvement in the long-term security and future of the studios for others to come.”

~Rachel Goodyear, Co-director at Islington Mill

Wavy Lady, 2020
Hand-tufted rug in acrylic and linen yarn
Alena Ruth Donely (2018/19)

The work reflects contrasting notions of ‘holding on’ and ‘letting’ go as a constant presence in the artists life, in a practice that draws on modern existentialism, experience of mental illness, trauma, and self-soothing – as well as being ‘unapologetically technicolour, playful and emotive’. She describes the object of the rug as an ‘island of play’ as a child – a place of storytelling, emotional connection and a comforting nostalgia.

Donely has exhibited work in group shows at Castlefield Gallery, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, HOME, and The Whitworth. She has also collaborated with Salford Lads and Girls Club, and made new work for the reopening of Rochdale Town Hall. Still based at Islington Mill, Alena now runs the Manchester Tufting Workshop, delivering commissions, workshops, courses and private tuition; as well as running collaborative sessions with the public at events including The Manchester Contemporary, 2023 and We Invented the Weekend, 2024.

Aidan Doyle was born in West Yorkshire and lives in Manchester. He has exhibited across the North including at Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle, HOME Manchester, and Harewood House, Leeds.

Doyle’s practice considers topics of self-perception, personal identity, and societal expectations, including the idea of ‘dissimulation of oneself’ – the hiding of one’s true feelings and thoughts. He combines traditional, manual and digital image making techniques, and explores the transition of two-dimensional imagery to tactile three-dimensional objects. His imagery often leans towards abstraction, creating a space for individual interpretation and connection.

New works ‘I just can’t bring myself to…’ ‘teeter on the balance of being visible and invisible’ and explore the relationship with the inner self and the outside world. Using fragmented imagery devoid of original context, the artist considers the choices we have to make on how we portray ourselves to the world: what we choose to share and perform, and what we choose to hide from view. Layered and collaged together, some areas torn and patched, others fragile or with abrasive textures, the works consider how we similarly ‘collage together’ small parts of ourselves to create an outward image.

Bell’s broader work revolves around socially engaged photography, often actively collaborating with communities to capture their stories and experiences. She uses both film and digital mediums and seeks to shed light on untold narratives, spark conversations, and ‘foster a deeper understanding of the world we inhabit’. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the artist was active in the Islington Mill ‘Masks 4 Life’ project making, selling and donating limited edition face masks featuring works by the studios’ artists.

Rorschach Women is part of a larger body of work titled Bathing in the Rorschach. Using a Go Pro camera submerged underwater, the artist captures ethereal and fluid moments, which are then digitally manipulated to create intriguing semi-abstracted imagery, intricate patterns, and symmetrical forms. The work explores the mysteries of the Rorschach Test – a series of abstract inkblot images which ask the viewer for subjective interpretations and psychological associations. Historically these were used to examine personality traits, emotional functioning, or patterns of thinking.

Juxtaposing the fluidity of water, the abstracted human body, and the enigmatic Rorschach form, the artist seeks to blur the boundaries between reality and perception. Her work evokes a sense of introspection and invites viewers to project their own interpretations and meanings.

Join us on the 9th of October 2024 to celebrate our newest exhibition CATALYST – featuring 16 artists from across the North West.

Artists include: Suraj Adekola, Katie Aird, Lubna Ali, Mollie Balshaw, Joe Beedles, Heather Bell, Alena Ruth Donely, Aidan Doyle, Elliott Flanagan, Joe Fowler, Jesse Glazzard, Jack Jameson, Lizzie King, Adam Rawlinson, Joshua Turner, and Meg Woods.

CATALYST install shot
Image: Courtesy of Jules Lister

Also showing:
The evening is a double celebration with MA Degree Show Present/Continuous launching at the same time in the New Adelphi Atrium. See new work from across the MA Pathways (Socially Engaged Art, Socially Engaged Photography, Contemporary Fine Art, Visual Communication) as well as MA Animation, MSc Games and Extended Reality and MA Fashion Business and Marketing.

Launch night:
Wednesday 9th October, 4.30 – 7.00pm
Speeches at 5.30pm. Refreshments served. All welcome.

Exhibition continues:
to 10th January 2025, 10am to 4pm weekdays, except for bank holidays and Christmas closures.

Beedles’ wider practice as a sound and visual artist explores club, techno and electroacoustic music, with an interest in both experimental and ambient soundscapes. His current focus is on generative systems for live performances, providing audiences with compelling and immersive audio-reactive imagery. His work has featured in gallery, venue and club contexts internationally, and he has held residencies in Chongqing, China (2017), Wysing Arts Centre, UK (2019), and in Johannesburg, South Africa & Maputo, Mozambique with the British Council (2019).

Beedles’ audiovisual work combines music and digital video with generative technologies, to create abstracted works that explore time, memory, and the ‘threshold between the real and the simulated’. This work explores the idea of ‘compressed memory’ – a term that might equally apply to digital or human memory retrieval, considering how recollections can blur and distort over time.

The artist uses a custom made patch (a piece of coding) which selects from a bank of audio tracks made by the artist, ranging from his first musical recordings through to his most recent compositions: ‘Soundbites suddenly burst to the foreground like a forgotten memory, before receding again into the distance’ Accompanying the sounds, an abstract visual is triggered simultaneously and ‘undergoes a similar process of obfuscation’.

Balshaw is an artist and curator based at Islington Mill in Salford, and a co-director of artist-led organisation Short Supply. Their work was most recently exhibited at the John Moores Painting Prize 2023.

Painting in the expanded field, Balshaw’s work extends beyond the traditional bounds and restrictions of painting, exploring the painting as an ‘object rather than an image’. They consider the deconstruction and reconstruction of structures and surfaces, applying and manipulating thick brushes of brightly coloured paint on – and in between – layers of cardboard in abstract gestures.

Their work also considers the intertwined histories of gender and painting practice, where painting is ‘caught up in a push and pull between femininity and masculinity Identifying as non-binary, I find myself stuck in this whirlwind of tropes, questioning where a painter like me fits amongst the history of painting.’

Ali is based in Manchester. She has exhibited in the UK and has work in public and private collections. In 2018 she was artist-in-residence at The Whitworth Gallery, Manchester. She was also a founder and member of print collective Rhubarb & Custard. Print Unltd was presented by the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Salford Community Leisure, Hot Bed Press, and was funded by Arts Council England.

Ali’s My Tiles was originally commissioned for Print Unltd, an exhibition of four North West based artists making new work which aims to celebrate and challenge printmaking practices today. My Tiles is inspired by the tradition of Islamic geometric pattern-making, which uses tessellated shapes and repeated motifs to create often intricate designs. They may be used to consider topics of unity, infinity and connection.

Rather than using digital scanning or editing, Ali’s works are all carefully drawn by hand before being exposed directly on screens. The first image in the series consists of a simple diamond shape; and as the work progresses new patterns and colours are added to each print. As the edition number increases, further pattern and colour is added – creating an unusual method of editioning the work wherein higher edition numbers become more complex works. In total Ali created an edition of 50 prints with 6 sub-editions. The first and last in the series, on display here, were acquired into the Collection.

“Lubna was not only a scholar but was selected from an open submission to take part in Print UnLtd a major exhibition of 4 commissioned artists at Salford Museum & Art Gallery in 2018. Responding to the brief to challenge the preconceptions of printmaking Lubna went on to produce a large series of prints building from one colour and one pattern design to over 30 colours in an evolving series of prints.

Each print in the series was different and grew from the last print. The full set of large prints existed as a whole art piece and individually. The concept of value of prints based on amount of work put in incrementally increasing each print was also integral to the work with the first print in one colour priced at less than the next, each colour adding value to the print, building to the most expensive 30 colour last print. Seeing Lubna question the nature and understanding of printmaking in this was a real highlight and opened quite a few people’s eyes to challenging print and gallery constructs. Oh and they are beautiful prints too!”

~ Sean Rorke, Artistic Director at Hot Bed Press

Adekola was born in 1983. He is a Nigerian artist currently living in Manchester. His work is informed by post-colonial narratives, through painting, installation, and drawing, he uses elements of contemporary and historical material to explore themes of migration, globalisation, identity politics, equality, diversity, and inclusivity. He has exhibited work internationally including in London and Nigeria.

“It was a real joy to spend time with Suraj during his time on the Scholars programme. Perhaps more importantly it was great to see his work and thinking develop. His recent series of works The Treasure (2024) made with Adire (tie-dye) fabric, spray paints, and oil sticks on canvas retain the attitude of the first works that I saw by him but they also display an evolving sense of confidence in the way he is working with his mix mediums. I look forward to seeing him continue to be as ambitious with his work in the future, as I’m sure he will be.“

~Matthew Pendergast, Curator at Castlefield Gallery

We Should All Be Blacks 6, 2022
Mixed Media
Suraj Adekola (2022/23)

This work is part of a series titled We Should All Be Blacks, which Adekola began during his 2022 MA studies. The artist uses the traditional ‘Adire’ fabric as the foundation of the work – a popular indigenous tie-dyed fabric made in his hometown of Egbaland, Abeokuta (the ‘capital of Adire-making’ in Nigeria). The artist deconstructs, fragments, weaves and stitches the material together, creating vibrant forms and patterns inspired by Cubism. On the surface he uses spray paint, oil stick, and bleach to draw figurative and abstract motifs. This stitching together of fragmented forms and varied mediums symbolises a deep-seated desire for belonging and inclusion, ‘mirroring the Black experience – a tapestry woven from diverse threads’. The work and material are imbued with personal narrative, memories, cultural references, and celebrates art as a way to share Black histories.

In-conversation event
Friday 14th September 2024
2 – 3:30 pm
Castlefield Gallery
Ticketed event | limited free tickets available

An in-conversation event between both writers, and artists Jeffrey Knopf and Theo Simpson will be deep diving into the current exhibition on the 14th September, 2-3:30pm at Castlefield Gallery.

Clare O’Dowd (Research Curator at the Henry Moore Institute) and Duncan Woolridge (Writer and Curator, and Reader in Photography at SODA, MMU) have produced texts in response to both Jeffrey Knopf and Theo Simpson’s works; commissioned by the University of Salford Art Collection and Castlefield Gallery for the 40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? exhibition.

Read them below:

Jeffrey Knopf, The Closest I Got to Freud’s Desk, 2024 – Essay by Clare O’Dowd

Theo Simpson – Essay by Duncan Woolridge