Apartment

Welcome to Apartment!

2009-04-15T12:56:00.000Z

Thank you for visiting.

Goodbye Apartment!

2009-04-14T21:40:00.005Z

Today we took down the vinyl lettering at Apartment, at just a few inches high it was externally an almost invisible indicator of this particular artist led space. Though internally for five years it perpetually cast a jolly shadow over the white walls of the flat. We (Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack) would like to take this opportunity to thank every person who ever visited our exhibition openings, to each of you that attended our exclusive little 'gigs', and the brave few that made the arduos journey across town and all the way up to the sixth floor for a personal visit. We genuinely enjoyed your company and have appreciated your support hugely. Pehaps most of all, we'd like to thank the artists, writers and musicians that chose to exhibit their work, words and songs in this flat: Just Paul's one bedroom sixth floor flat that became a strange and tiny beacon of creativity in a northern city called Manchester. In the meantime this blog will remain in place acting as documentation for each show, every artist and all events that have happened here, indoors and out. For those of you still interested in Apartment it's perhaps best that you e-mail Paul (pjharfleet@hotmail.com) or Hilary (hilaryjack1@gmail.com) individually as we will check the Apartment e-mail less as time goes on.

Once Again Thanks Ever So Much!.....

Paul and Hilary

Giorgio Sadotti - PAUL PAUL IS THE ART

2009-02-05T12:55:00.012Z

Giorgio Sadotti is a conceptual artist, he has exhibited extensively in the UK and abroad. Giorgio wants things to be easy. He wants things to be simple. By utilising the skills of others Giorgio allows himself a freedom; a freedom to do nothing. For PAUL artist Giorgio Sadotti raised the status of Paul Harfleet, co-curator and tenant of Apartment, to art. A poster (Above) stated 'PAUL PAUL IS THE ART' this was placed directly on the front door of the flat instructing every visitor to the opening to view Paul Harfleet as the art.

Paul Harfleet is allocated as the art when he is in the flat and was given no specific instruction by the artist other than to be himself. A poster 'PAUL PAUL IS THE THING' is for sale, (£50) and aims to be a record of the show. The show runs until April 2^nd and will be the last exhibition at Apartment. This blog will continue to be maintained as a resource and legacy of Apartment's activity over it's five year run.

The exhibition runs until April 2nd, view by appointment. For more information on Giorgio Sadotti click here

Below a Slideshow of the Opening!

Contact

2009-02-05T12:49:00.000Z

click map to enlarge:
49 Lamport Court,
Lamport Close,
Ardwick,
Manchester,
M1 7EG.
apartmentmanchester@googlemail.com
Paul Harfleet: 07870 244 153
pjharfleet@hotmail.com
Hilary Jack: 07957 398 451
hilaryjack1@hotmail.com

counter

2009-02-05T12:47:00.000Z

Life of A Bluestocking ~ E.P. Niblock

2008-11-11T13:26:00.015Z

Preview ~ 6-9pm

Thursday December 4^th 2008

Afternoon tea and guided tour of Brunswick ~ 3-5pm Thursday December 11^th 2008

Due to demand this show has been extended until January 16th 2009!

subsequently view by appointment

‘Life of a Bluestocking’ is an exhibition that celebrates the end of Euphemia P. Niblock’s year long “Writer in Residence” at Apartment. During this time Miss Niblock has used Apartment as means to explore her idiosyncratic explorations of the city and ‘Archaeology of Now’ through her blog ‘Diary of a Bluestocking’ and by her various contributions to publications on-line and in print.

The show will chart this unique character’s year long journey of self discovery. Euphemia P Niblock is a spinster, an antiquarian, a flaneuse and the epitome of the Edwardian Bluestocking. In 2003, after eighty years in obscurity, she emerged unexpectedly from the revamped Manchester Museum, and is still adjusting to life in 21^st century. Her bemused and astute explorations into the contemporary world have established her as a significant commentator on the peculiarities of present-day life through her examination of art, artists and modern architecture.

E.P Niblock was shortlisted for the Manchester Blog awards and has recently contributed to The Long Night of the Liverpool Biennial, a one off publication commissioned by Open Eye Publication.

Scenes from a Life

2008-11-11T13:25:00.003Z

Above is the slideshow that is on view at Apartment, revealing a selection of photographs from E.P Niblock's personal archive.

Life of a Bluestocking

2008-11-11T13:18:00.005Z

Above a selection of images from the preview of 'Life of a Bluestocking', the show consists of a detailed time-line of E.P.Niblock's Life, and a 'Reading Room' with selected texts from 'Diary of a Bluestocking. Also included above are some images of the event at Apartment hosted by E.P Niblock; a walking tour through Brunswick, for a full transcript click here. Below is the text accompanying the show.

“The flaneur, though grounded in everyday life is an analytical form, a narrative device, an attitude towards knowledge and its social context. It is an image of movement through the social space of modernity. The flaneur is a multilayered palimpsest that allows us to move from real products of modernity to a critical appreciation of the state of modernity and its erosion into the past.” Charles Jencks

The flaneur is a stroller, a loiterer, someone who ambles through a city without apparent purpose but is secretly attuned to the history of the place and in covert search of adventure and knowledge. The flaneur has stalked the literature, art movements and philosophies of the 20th century, an intellectual chameleon, adapting perfectly to his times and surroundings, an archetype that to successive generations of artists, urbanists and writers is the metaphor for the century, a poster boy for modernity. More than anything he is essentially a male figure, an intellectual voyeur always distanced from the crowd that he is so keen to observe.

However for cultural theorists such as Jenks the flaneur is essentially an analytical device or contrivance to explore the project of modernity itself and its legacy in the emerging 21st century. Euphemia P Niblock is a response to this contrivance - a playful embodiment of the history of the flaneur and the modernist gaze - whilst her Diary of a Bluestocking is an experiment in examining this critical discourse in the context of what might be termed the current post post-modern turn. Life of a Bluestocking charts modernisms journey - her disappearance at the height of the period (its optimism untested and universal narrative unchallenged) and appearance as the 21st century establishes itself enabling us to view the intervening years, our own century, with a critical eye.

Spinster and bluestocking, Niblock is also something of an outsider, an emancipated transgressor in polite Edwardian society, recalling the unsung role of the female intellectual, adventurer and agent in the birth of the modernist period; a playful subversion of the Victorian upper class male. On first inspection an unlikely anachronism and almost comic figure, Niblock is in reality an ongoing research project, a call to arms for the forgotten legacy of the polymath and amateur enthusiast in our prevailing predilection for the specialist and the professional; a more 'curious' gaze than the convention of the dandified flaneur.

Life of a Bluestocking is not only a celebration of Niblock’s tenure as writer in residence at Apartment but a gentle parody of the recent historic or ‘museological’ turn in the contemporary art scene and the ‘Mark Dion’ effect in archaeological and natural history museums across the globe, typified by the successful Alchemy programmes at the Manchester Museum, and an interesting response to the ubiquity of the ‘cabinet of curiosity’ in the Gallery.

The history of Apartment is one that knowingly straddles the peripheries and cut and thrust of knowledge production and critical discourse, a space that reflects an ongoing conversation on the intersections of art, urban and cultural studies on social relations and everyday life. It is surely no coincidence that Apartment has embraced the opportunity to comment on the prevailing trend of sending the artist into the museum by bringing the museologist into the art space, inviting a historian and archaeologist to explore and examine the role of the artist in the documenting of an ‘archaeology of now’, our defining quotidian moment.

http://diaryofabluestocking.blogspot.com

Prizes and Awards!...

2008-08-27T23:58:00.000Z

We are delighted to announce that artists we have previously supported and who have exhibited at Apartment have been recognised for their artistic practice across the region. Naomi Kashiwagi recently won The Best of Manchester Award in the art category of the prize hosted by Urbis; Paul Harfleet was shortlisted for The Pansy Project in the same category! Previous Apartment Artist-in-Residence Maeve Rendle has been nominated for The Northern Art Prize alongside friends of Apartment, Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson. So Congratulations to all!

Writer in Residence ~ EP Niblock

2008-08-27T23:46:00.001Z

Our experimental ‘residency’ program continues with selection of writer E.P. Niblock who has employed the methodologies of archaeological practice and theory to investigate Apartment, its location and institutional role. To view the ongoing writings of EP Niblock please visit her blog: www.diaryofabluestocking.blogspot.com.

News!

2008-07-10T14:27:00.006Z

Hello and welcome to Apartment’s blog, as you can see from the links below we have been busy with Artranspennine08 over the last few weeks, over sixty artists have taken part and we’ve been delighted by the response. Though we have also been busy with other projects, we recently went on a curatorial research trip to Berlin with a selection of Northwest based curators, a blog outlines the trip and is intended to act as a resource for other curators who may be thinking of visiting Berlin so do have a look if you’re interested. In our endeavour to showcase other new activity we were pleased to note a new artist-led space in Manchester, ‘Pavement’ is a new exhibition space housed in a former drapery store, for more information click here, the current exhibition by Rut Blees Luxemburg was of particular interest to us ‘Caliban Towers’ depicts a group of tower blocks at night, (image above). In Liverpool we recently attended the opening of an exciting new commercial space; Ceri Hand Gallery is housed in a converted warehouse on Cotton Street in Liverpool click here for more information. We have also updated our links section to the right with new spaces, activities and projects located in the Northwest so do have a browse. Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack are artists too and have been busy with their own projects so do have a look here and here.

Artranspennine08

2008-05-10T07:20:00.005Z

Above is 'The Reading Room' by Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson, curated by Lewis Biggs as part of Artranspennine08; The work is part of the large scale cross-regional exhibition that we are curating with over fifty emerging and established artists working in a variety of disciplines. Artists from across the transpennine route and beyond will be placing work at a variety of locations from painted beer mats in pubs to augmented rugby balls in fields. There will be a special launch event at Internaional3 on Friday June 13th 5-9pm. To view the work above e-mail the above address or atp08@hotmail.co.uk.

Clown Crash } Dirty Honky

2008-03-27T10:12:00.001Z

Clown Crash - Dirty Honky

2008-03-06T14:48:00.009Z

a performance and exhibition by Dirty Honky; the pig nosed clown

Thursday 20^th March from 3pm to 9pm

Exhibition will continue until April 25^th, view by appointment.

Unable to pay escalating rent and council tax, Dirty Honky, the pig-nosed clown alter-ego of artist Alexis Milne, has been kicked out of his home and is looking for a place to crash. The solution is to install his purpose built performance shed, in Apartment.

On Thursday 20^th March from 3pm to 9pm Dirty Honky opened his shed doors to the public inviting them inside to play “Honkopoly” his own version of the popular board game Monopoly. In doing so he allowed property starved citizens to become property tycoons, enabling them to temporarily enjoy the prestige and social status that comes with climbing the property ladder. His actions highlighted the urgent need for affordable housing for young creatives, such as Honky, who are all too often ousted from developing urban areas that they have culturally enriched. ‘Clown Crash’ by Dirty Honky subverts the conventional realms of clowning to comment on the social constructs that both celebrate the masses and alienate the individual.

Dirty Honky’s performance shed started its life in a Salford backyard. After receiving backing from Contact Theatre as part of The Manchester International Festival, Milne transported the shed to Selfridges department store in Manchester, inviting shoppers to write their filthiest confessions on the inside walls of his shed. Honky was then invited by the Manchester Doodlebug collective to exhibit his dirty secrets shed at the Big Chill festival in the Malvern Hills. Most recently the shed featured in the ‘Future Can Wait’ exhibition during London Art Week.

Horst - Review

2008-01-22T14:05:00.000Z

A review of Nikola Irmer's 'Horst'; Apartment's current show can be found on 'INTERFACE' a-n's platform for critical writing, an excerpt from which is below:

"Horst is a sixty year old 18 stone drag queen whose idiosyncratic response to Nikola Irmer’s habit of advertising for models in the personal column of the local paper initiated a three year collaboration. The resulting paintings depict Horst’s creation of a spectacular drag persona; the domestic context of Apartment facilitating an intriguing intimacy to this encounter with a series of works that delves into a usually elusive transformative process.

The cosiness of an art show taking place in the domestic setting of Apartment is of course somewhat disingenuous and deceptive; the gallery and its location always complicit in its playful ambiguity and sense of the absurd, and in this show in particular the traditional 'frame' of paint and canvas adds to the queerness and confusion often accompanying a visit to the tower block. A 60’s modernist design, it has the feel of a clean white cube but is also a fully functioning home, and one too cramped, too snug to be either an impersonal temple to art or the festival circuit’s fashionably industrial temporary ‘unlikely space’. Its proportions are simply too tight for the customary ‘long view’, a convention imposed to appreciate displayed work in the prescribed tradition with which we are encouraged to look at Art; from afar and with due reverence. At Apartment art is almost uncomfortably close; we cannot escape it or the cosy ephemera that disturbs and confronts our contemplation." Read on:

Nikola Irmer ~ Horst

2008-01-20T22:31:00.001Z

Nikola Irmer ~ Horst

Preview

Thursday January 17^th 2008 - 6pm – 8pm

Exihibtion Jan 18th - Feb 29th

Veiw by Appointment

Apartment is delighted to announce Horst the first UK solo exhibition of German artist Nikola Irmer. Irmer studied Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art and at Hunter College, New York. She now lives in and works in Berlin. Her practice investigates the complexities and revelations of the artist/model relationship; Irmer seeks out her models through the distribution of flyers, and the placement of advertisements in the personal columns of local newspapers. What begins as a simple exchange has the potential to develop into a collaborative relationship which creates sensitive and revealing portraits of unexpected subjects.

Horst is a sixty year old, 18 stone, drag queen whose unusual response to one of Nikola’s advertisements initiated a three year collaboration. A series of these paintings will be shown at Apartment. The paintings depict Horst’s creation of a spectacular drag persona; the domestic context of Apartment facilitates an interesting intimacy to the experience of the work that delves into this private transformative process.

Nikola Irmer

2008-01-20T12:45:00.000Z

Above one of Nikola Irmer's paintings in Apartment along with a selection of five paintings in the bedroom. The show consists of a series of paintings that depict Horst's transformation into a drag persona. Also included in the show is a collage that reveals a creative dialogue between artist and model; Horst uses sketches and images of the work created during their sessions to create new imagery that celebrates the relationship that the artist and model have developed over a the years. Postcards and collages sent to Irmer by Horst extend the creative process beyond the studio, Irmer's willingness to include these images in this exhibition reveal the value she places on her subjects as model and in this case as collaborator.

Apartment opening....

2008-01-20T12:23:00.000Z

Here are some images from the opening on Thursday, (above Paul Harfleet, Hilary Jack and Nikola Irmer, below some other visitors). In other news Apartment has just started a group on Facebook; do join for more images and to offer opinion and comment on our program and to easily hear of updates:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6641529143

2007-11-20T08:31:00.000Z

Apartment currently features in Art World Magazine; in an interesting article by Kate Feld that explores alternative gallery spaces, along with Apartment, Porch Gallery, Phlight, Bog Standard Gallery, Caravan Gallery and 312 feature.

Apartment ~ News

2007-10-15T11:31:00.000Z

Apartment is awaiting news on funding to inform visitors to our blog of forthcoming exhibitions. Berlin based artist Nikola Irmer is the next confirmed show, details will follow soon. Lamport Court where Apartment is based continues to be a centre of various cultural activity. LoneLady (above) continues to create electrifying music on the seventh floor, and has just released a vinyl; ‘Early the haste comes’ is available in all good outlets, for more information on LoneLady visit Lamport Court based independent record label Filthy Home Recordings. Lamport Court poetry magazine continues to support new writing. Paul Harfleet is about to feature his Pansy Project at the Homotopia Festival in Liverpool. Hilary Jack is currently exhibiting at CUBE in Manchester and is preparing a show for Transition Gallery in London. This is not to mention the other bands, artists, DJ’s and musicians based in this unlikely artistic hub.

Radio Appearance!...

2007-09-12T13:20:00.000Z

Paul Harfleet (Co-Director) and E.P.Niblock (writer in residence) will be appearing on BBC Radio Manchester Thursday 13th September just after 10pm. Tune in to listen to the latest news form Apartment and hear some of Euphemia's explorations at Apartment so far.

Source Article

2007-08-18T11:29:00.000Z

Below a review of Maeve Rendle's Mount Purgatory exhibition at Apartment features in issue 51 of 'SOURCE' magazine, the review written by Pavel Buchler explores Maeve Rendle's use of photography in her practice: click to enlarge and read.

Apartment News!

2007-07-26T12:55:00.000Z

Apartment is back in Manchester; a huge thanks to all those that came to see the show in Berlin and were so positive about it, we also had hundreds of hits to the blog so thank you for visiting. We are now hoping to develop a project at Apartment with an amazing artist we met in Berlin; watch this space for information. We have also selected and are in the process of curating a show at CUBE for their first OPEN exhibition, the opening is on Thursday July 12^th. In other news Hilary currently has a show at Transition Gallery in London and Paul is also showing Pansy Project photos at Tooks Chambers until July 13th and is contributing to a symposia on June 28th at MIRIAD where he will be talking about Apartment. For further information on the recent show in Berlin see below, and for more on Axel Lapp Projects click here; the next artist showing at Axel Lapp Projects is Josephine Flynn. Berlin is amazing, there is such a thriving art scene there; some of the highlights include ‘Homie’ a space run from a flat by Daniel Seiple. There are loads of smaller galleries around Mitte which are well worth checking out (see links below for more) a highlight of the bigger musuems is Matthew Buckingham at Hamburger Bahnhof the show is on ‘til August.

Meeting Point - Axel Lapp Projects, Berlin

2007-06-02T11:37:00.000Z

Apartment are currently in Berlin at Axel Lapp Projects. We are showing a selection of Apartment’s previous exhibitors at the space (Invalidenstraße 161, D-10115 Berlin); so if you happen to be in Berlin; do come to see us we will be there hosting the gallery until the show ends on June 23rd. Entitled ‘Meeting Point’ the exhibition features; Dave Gledhill, Paul Harfleet, Hilary Jack, Naomi Kashiwagi, Lisa Penny, Maeve Rendle, Cherry Tenneson, Martine Myrup, David Wilkinson and Beáta Veszely; more details below:

Twice a year Axel Lapp Projects invites and showcases the work of artist-run spaces based outside Berlin in a programme entitled INTERLUDE. For the first of this programme Axel Lapp has selected Apartment, a project and exhibition space, run from a sixth floor one bedroom council flat in central Manchester, UK, co-directed by Hilary Jack and Paul Harfleet. For INTERLUDE 1, Hilary Jack and Paul Harfleet have brought together the work of ten artists from Manchester, Budapest, London and Glasgow in a show entitled ‘Meeting Point’. The work offers an insight into the breadth of activity that Apartment has facilitated over the last three years and reflects Lapp’s own interest and commitment to this Manchester based exhibition space.

Above; visitors to the preview,

Apartment is based in a flat, and unlike many artist led spaces that operate in this way, the curators choose to present the work alongside the possessions that Paul Harfleet lives amongst. This curatorial decision enables the artwork to position itself in contrast to the objects or to hide within them, camouflaged by the everyday detritus. Each artist presented here, at Axel Lapp Projects, has exhibited at Apartment and has dealt with this reality in a variety of interesting ways.

When artwork is shown at Apartment the interior of the flat frames the work. At Axel Lapp Projects, Apartment itself is an absent participant, no longer available as a supporting framework for the presentation of the art work. Therefore the works are able to be re-seen without the context of Apartment, revealing to the curators, the complex relationships that have been formed between the artists and their practices over the three years that Apartment has existed. For the audience the various works are seen within the gallery context and with the knowledge that these relationships were forged in a domestic location; here the artists come together creating a meeting point where the work can be seen in a group show and in a totally new context.

David Gledhill

2007-06-01T23:51:00.000Z

David Gledhill is a painter based in Manchester UK. Central to David Gledhill's painting is the adaptation of imagery produced through other media. Working with found photographs, he locates and magnifies formalstrategies and agendas, in order to 'de-naturalise' them. For this exhibition he has produced a multi-panel transcription from an early documentary about Berlin. The resulting 'stills' are part of a sequence filmed from a train. Gledhill has shown frequently in the UK, most recently at Phillips Gallery, Manchester and The Storey Gallery, Lancaster. David Gledhill, Film Transcriptions, 1,2,3,4, oil on canvas

Paul Harfleet

2007-06-01T13:24:00.000Z

Paul Harfleet plants pansies where homophobic abuse has been experienced in the streets he entitles the location after the abuse received then posts it on his website www.thepansyproject.com. Based in Manchester and co-curator of Apartment, Harfleet has exhibited internationally, in 2006 at Conflux, New York and recently at the BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Here the artist presents 200 posters of a pansy entitled; “Heh! Queer Boy!” The artist has named and signed each poster referencing the repeated homophobia the work marks, in inviting visitors to take a poster the work acts as a cipher enabling news of the project to spread through anecdote.

“Heh! Queer Boy!” - 200 signed posters.

Hilary Jack

2007-06-01T13:21:00.000Z

Hilary Jack works across media focusing on the repair and re-use of discarded material found on city streets. In doing so she references the excesses of an economy based on built-in-obsolescence. Co-curator of Apartment she has exhibited internationally, most recently in Conflux 06, New York and at Transition Gallery, London. For ‘Meeting Point’ Hilary Jack uses Axel Lapp projects as studio, workplace and exhibition space to focus on themes of loss and separation. Throughout the duration of the exhibition Jack will create a new partner for a single, lost, black glove, found and photographed, on waste land at the site of the Berlin Wall on a previous research trip to Berlin.

‘Glove’ - found glove and knitting

Naomi Kashiwagi

2007-06-01T13:18:00.000Z

Naomi Kashiwagi’s interest lies with the utilitarian and conceptual function of objects and technologies. For ‘Meeting Point’ Kashiwagi responds to the exhibition setting of Axel Lapp projects by introducing a series of paradoxical re-appropriations of archaic and obsolete equipment, such as a type writer, a barometer and hand typed index system uses references from new technology. Kashiwagi is a recent MA graduate living in Manchester.
‘Araichment’, - found objects.

Martine Myrup

2007-06-01T13:17:00.000Z

Martine Myrup is a Danish artist living in Glasgow, Scotland. “It is far more illuminating to let the animal’s behaviour determine one’s words, but certainly often more difficult, as there are often no appropriate words in any human language, known to us.” From ‘The Mentality of Apes’ by Wolfgang Köhler (1925) Myrup is interested in the ideas of melancholia and nostalgia. Her work explores the frailness and brevity of human life, while balancing in between melancholy and a subtle humour, seeking to point out the preciousness of gentle gestures. Myrup is currently working on a series of animations and will be exhibiting new work at Intermedia in Glasgow in August Myrup was selected from open submission for a solo show at Apartment entitled “Domestic Disturbances” earlier this year. She has exhibited internationally with recent shows at Sidekick, Nottingham and The Market Gallery, Glasgow. Peculiar Flight; her first artist book was published in April last year

‘Robin’ - animation on laptop, and ‘Act 3’ – cut black and white photograph.

Lisa Penny

2007-06-01T13:16:00.000Z

Lisa Penny works with drawing, collage and found material from factual publications such ‘Life World Library’ and National Geographic. Penny uses found images and visual information which is subverted to tell a different narrative, for ‘Meeting Point’ Penny shows a diptych collage constructed from found magazine pages of two iconic male figures. Lisa Penny is based in London and has exhibited internationally she currently has a solo show at Galerie Inges, Stubbenkammerstr. 4, 10437 Berlin

‘The Passengers’ - collaged found images

Maeve Rendle

2007-06-01T13:13:00.000Z

Maeve Rendle’s practice focuses on ways in which art works come into being and take on life through the process of being created. For ‘Meeting Point’ Rendle exhibits a set of twelve photographs which have been reduced to eight by her defective Pentax camera. Rendle is based in Manchester and was recently an Artist in Residence at Apartment culminated in her first solo show earlier this year.
‘Notch’ – 6” x 4” photographs

Cherry Tenneson

2007-06-01T13:10:00.000Z

Cherry Tenneson is both an artist and a trained sign maker. ‘Slider Sign” installed on a sliding door in the gallery reflects Tenneson’s preoccupation with the authority that the artist has over an audience and general public. The work consists of a black anodised aluminium frame housing a black slider text panel which moves across two sections, one green and one red. Users of the slider sign can move the black slider panel to reveal their applicable message from either one of the two sections.

'Door Slider’ - door mounted sign

Beáta Veszely

2007-06-01T12:11:00.000Z

Beáta Veszely continues her exploration into the symbiotic relationship between horse and human as a paradigm for being-in-the-world. Veszely is based in Budapest and has exhibited on a wide scale internationally, most recently in solo shows at Modern Art, Oxford, UK and Galerija Balen Zagreb, Croatia. Veszely shows her video work; ‘On the Way to Heaven 2’displaying the spiritual and physical connection between horse and rider.

‘On the Way to Heaven 2’ - video projection

David Wilkinson

2007-06-01T12:08:00.000Z

David Wilkinson’s work is based in the iconography of the sausage as a rediscovered archetype. Also to an extent a form of autobiography, as he is involved in producing and supplying sausages in Budapest, Hungary. Another attempt to link art with life. For ‘Meeting Point’ David presents ‘The Birth of Consciousness’ a sculptural work depicting two plaster sausages in a nest of dust made from the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag at Gagosian Gallery, London . David is based in London and Budapest and has exhibited internationally, recently at Ormeau Baths, Belfast, Northern Ireland and in solo show at The Dorottya Galleria Budapest.

‘The Birth of Consciousness’ - sculpture and found objects

Guardian Article

2007-05-31T14:12:00.001Z

The article left recently featured in the Weekend Guardian magazine appearing in the 'Space' section, the regular segment focuses on how people utilise their living space in different ways. click the image to read.

Maeve Rendle / Mount Purgatory

2007-03-18T17:07:00.000Z

Apartment is delighted to present ‘Mount Purgatory’, a show by Maeve Rendle. The work is a culmination of a twelve month residency with Apartment and made during a week in residence at Apartment. Mount Purgatory looks at ways in which art works come into being and take on life through the process of being created.

The work is concerned with the nature of artistic practice, and of the domestic artist run space. It looks at how the artist run space and the art on display act with and against each other to produce a rich and varied dialogue.

The image above a detail of the photographs in the space which reveal the entire contents of Apartment placed in the living room.

The artist gives herself the challenge of completing a task. The process of under taking this task creates a fresh environment in which to think. It is in this thinking environment that the work begins to emerge to the artist. It is as though the work has its own intrinsic life and it becomes the artist’s job to uncover that life, to reveal that work of art, rather than to enable a pre conceived idea to be made real. In this respect the artist responds directly to her immediate physical environment using the materials and tools with which it provides her.

The first step was to remove every object, shelf, utensil, item of furniture etc from its original position within Apartment and place it in the living room. Taking the living room to be the main space of the ‘Gallery’, all the contents of Apartment were placed together to create a new surface with which the artist could work. The artist explores the thinking process and relationship that develops between the artist and the work, before during and after the work is made.

Above ; image of the emptied flat.

The final work presented for exhibition is a sequence of photographs taken over the period of time the artist was in residence. The photographs record the contents gathering in the living room; amidst the contents there is a growing pile of newspapers. The artist’s movements are traced through the viewfinder of the camera, and her presence is recorded only through a sentence repeatedly highlighted in every newspaper, ‘this morning there was no new idea’.

The process of finding the work from within the contents of Apartment correlates to finding words within existing newsprint accessible to all. Being able to find the same words each day in every newspaper, demonstrates that nothing is finite; similarly the work with the contents of Apartment will not come to an end but can be repeated with an ever-changing shape. Thus the present work of art is it’s demonstration of the potential for the work to change and morph into a new work, and that work into another work and so on.

The Installation of the photographs

special open weekend

Friday 9th March - Sunday 11th March

Opening times 11-4pm or by appointment; e-mail: apartmentmanchester@hotmail.co.uk

for further information and enquiries

Mount Purgatory - Preview

2007-03-09T17:07:00.000Z

Here are some images of the preview from Maeve Rendle's show. Thanks to all those that attended; It may be a our busiest night yet. Above: Paul Needham arrives! Below left to right:Maeve Rendle, Dave Macintosh and Hilary Jack. Centre the busy living room with many familiar faces. Right Paul Harfleet and Dave Macintosh (again!). Bottom; earlier in the evening!

News!

2007-01-31T12:19:00.000Z

Apartment is mentioned in an article written by Lucinda Adam on the 24 hour museum website, it's been up for ages we've only just noticed, follow this link to see the article exploring the new artist led spaces across the country.

There is also a review of the current show on the AN website in the reviews unetided section, follow this link to see more. It's always great to get some critical input to the space!

Willy Mason / House Concert Tour

2007-01-31T12:16:00.000Z

Above Willy Mason

Apartment was delighted to host a special acoustic gig by Willy Mason as part of his House Concert Tour. What a lovely evening it was, a huge thank you to all of the people that were able to come; you were a wonderful audience and a massive thanks to Willy Mason. What a joy he was! This was the second gig we've hosted at Apartment; LoneLady played last year; that too was great. There is something quite magical about these intimate small scale gigs, we might do another soon so keep an eye on the blog for information.

Below an image of the gig which better captures the atmosphere

Martine Myrup / Domestic Disturbances

2007-01-25T17:57:00.000Z

Martine Myrup's Domestic Disturbances is the current show and will be open til early March, to view the exhibition e-mail or call to arrange an appointment; contact details below.

Above - milk spill in the shape of Antarctica in the kitchen - Untitled

Apartment is delighted to present Martine Myrup’s Domestic Disturbances; Martine Myrup was selected from over eighty international artists that applied for a one person exhibition at Apartment during our recent call for submissions. Martine Myrup is a Danish artist who graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2002. Her recent shows include In Ruins in Melbourne, Sidekick in Nottingham and Maid of Corinth in Market Gallery, Glasgow. Peculiar Flight; her first artist book was published in April; she is currently working on an animation for the Centre for Contemporary Art in Glasgow. For more information on this artist please visit www.myrup.co.uk

Martine Myrup’s work strives to reflect her interest in the fleeting moment, and in the idea that in order to build, something must be destroyed.

Myrup’s focus is on natural history and literature concerned with polar explorations. In her search for geographical metaphors, she reveals the moments between the scientific and the personal descriptions of mans’ often futile attempt to fill the void. Her starting point is often a wish to react to a specific location; the white walls of a gallery transformed into a vast snowy background, the interior of an old mansion house becomes the site for an unfolding hidden narrative. While striving to incorporate what is already present; small signs of decay, flaws and traces of other events, she adds another layer which hints at an alternative narrative.

Domestic Disturbances utilizes Apartment as a backdrop for small interventions. Rather than adding more “stuff” to the world, Myrup merely re-works what is already there. By using everyday, non precious materials, she appropriates what is to hand in an attempt to bring the void closer and domesticate it, by doing so her discreet interventions turn the mundane into
the epic.

Below a closer view.

Martine Myrup

2007-01-25T17:55:00.000Z

The image above is the untitled collection of books on exploration positioned on the top of the book shelves in the bedroom. The books are specifically placed to create an image of a mountain range out of the mountains featured on the spine of each book.

Martine Myrup Press

2007-01-25T17:00:00.000Z

The pictured article featured in The Metro on Friday 26th January; click on image to read the article. Martine Myrup and Paul Harfleet also appeared BBC Manchester's 'Studio 6' radio show on Thursday, we will post the piece on the site soon.

ContentsMayVary

2006-10-01T17:06:00.000Z

Apartment presents...

ContentsMayVary

Contents May Vary are a Manchester based artist collective co-founded in 2004, who together and individually look for challenging ways to exhibit in alternative situations. This group of recent MMU Fine Art graduates: Ed Payne, Jon Turner, Alice Bradshaw, Liz Murphy, Martha Webster and Richard Shields exhibit a series of new works made specifically for Apartment.

This show has now finished. There is currently no show on at Apartment, the next show will be announced soon.

Alice Bradshaw

2006-10-01T16:43:00.000Z

Alice Bradshaw creates a sense of curiosity through the manipulation of everyday mass produced objects which are often rendered dysfunctional caricatures of themselves. Her intention is to blur distinctions between the absurd and the mundane by creating or accentuating subtleties, whilst addressing concepts of purpose and futility. Alice’s work; ‘Kitchen Roll’ and ‘Toilet Roll’ are positioned in the kitchen and bathroom

Liz Murphy

2006-10-01T16:38:00.000Z

Liz Murphy invites the spectator to create narratives drawn from suggestions laid within her work involving the audience in the creative process, giving the viewer ownership of the finished piece; thus bridging the gap between the alienation of the artist and their practice within society. ‘84 Steps’ as shown above was installed in the stairwell of Lamport Court.

Edward Payne

2006-10-01T16:35:00.000Z

Edward Payne is a sculptor whose architectural model aesthetic (shown above) hints at a possible narrative without giving away a story. He aims to work in a disinterested way while at the same time acknowledging the impossibility of a truly disinterested practice. This allows the work to have its own life without the artist acting as illustrator. In this way a dialogue is created between artist, work and viewer, ‘surface block’ is a work that is positioned at the functioning table in the living room.

Richard Shields

2006-10-01T16:31:00.000Z

Richard Shields for ‘ContentsMayVary’ at Apartment ‘Intrinsic Reflection’ 1 and 2 are shown on the TV (above)and and computer monitors respectively. Richard’s work explores the complexity of traditional image making and its current cultural position by selecting new technology and bringing together varied processes he attempts to alter and preserve the original visual experience.

Jon Turner

2006-10-01T16:26:00.000Z

Jon Turner takes mundane domestic objects as subject matter, and questions their hierarchical standing in a social context. He manipulates the appearance of these items by using disassociated methods; he aims to create a sense of potential sentimentality towards the modified items; by provoking a sense of uncertainty in terms of the reading and acceptance of the re-modified object. By using facets of domestic interior design in the manipulation, he questions the traits of domesticity and the placement of craft and craftsmanship in a time of mass-production. For this show Jon augmented Apartment’s existing mop bucket. The untitled work above was then placed in the kitchen.

Martha Webster

2006-10-01T16:14:00.000Z

Martha Webster presents ‘There is NOTHING on this wall’. Martha is preoccupied with words and their meanings. Her work explores the complexity of learnt language and the changing experience of vocabulary. For this show Martha has explored the word ‘NOTHING’ and its meaning. By placing the word ‘NOTHING’ on the left hand living room wall in very small white vinyl, Martha highlights the interplay between the meaning of a word and its physical existence.

(Vinyl lettering supplied and installed by Cherry Tenneson)

News

2006-10-01T16:10:00.000Z

Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack have just returned from New York where they both participated in the Conflux Festival a contemporary exploration of psychogeography this fascinating collection of "International artists, Technologists, urban adventurers and the public" worked across New York. Paul took The Pansy Project and Hilary 'Make do and Mend'; each of them made site specific works based in Williamsburg where the festival was based. Alot of artist-led activity is going on in the area, a favourite gallery was Pierogi; the current show being an interesting take on 911. To find out more about the festival click here and visit Glowlab to find out more on psychogeography. Back in Manchester, Apartment is getting ready for the next show; Contents May Vary previews next week, more information below.

O T / CHERRY TENNESON

2006-06-30T14:00:00.000Z

Apartment presents O T an exhibition marking the end of Cherry Tenneson’s residency at Apartment. Tenneson has concentrated on the signs installed by the council in the communal areas of the tower block. By appropriating the format of the signs, and subtly altering the content and context, Tenneson comments on the audience’s experience and appearance of municipal authority. The augmented signs will be visible throughout the building by residents and visitors to Apartment; who will also have access to work shown in the flat.

Preview – Thursday 13th July 6pm-8pm
The preview of OT (shown above) was very well attended, thanks to all who came and helped make it a lovely evening. Do contact us if you'd like to see the show
.14th July - 31st August / view by appointment:
apartmentmanchester@hotmail.co.uk
Paul Harfleet = 07870 244 153
Hilary Jack = 07957 398 451

"The work made for this show was inspired by the disappearance of two letters from the block’s main entrance sign which has resulted in the building gaining a new name. The remaining signs throughout the tower block have now been corrected to display its new name."

Cherry Tenneson

The image above shows the sign Cherry made with the 'new name' at the doorway , below the sign placed in the pinboard, for more images go to Cherry's blog: www.cherrytenneson.blogspot.com

Tower Block Tour

2006-06-25T14:25:00.000Z

During this years Architecture Week, Apartment took part in The Institute of Urban Dreaming’s, collaboration with CUBE, where invited members of the public attended a tour of Manchester residential tower blocks. Artists John van Aitken and Jane Brake lead the tour on behalf of the Institute of Urban Dreaming, offering their own unique perspective on the history, present and future of the tower block. Just a few of the many highlights of the day included Thorn Court in Salford, with a beautifully kept communal garden, Stretford Tower in Stretford with fabulous views of Manchester, a new development in Collyhurst by Urban Splash, and ‘How to live in a Tower Block’ by Maureen Ward; an invaluable pamphlet with handy hints on tower block etiquette. Each participant was given a Polaroid camera to document the day an example of which is shown above. The day culminated at Apartment where selected Polaroids where then presented to the group. There are some useful links below for more information on tower blocks and architecture week.

www.architectureweek.com
www.sustainingtowers.org
www.3towers.co.uk
www.c20society.org.uk
www.cube.org.uk
www.webelongeverywhere.co.uk

The above picture shows Megan; one of the participants looking through the selected polaroids from the tour which were shown at Apartment at the end of the day. (Photograph Adam Murray).

News

2006-05-30T11:43:00.000Z

Despite there currently being no show on at Apartment It's been a very busy time. We recently attended the NAN-NANA event in Nottingham; each artist-led organisation gave a presentation; Apartment presented 'Tea and Sympathy', we served tea and biscuits to each participant (Left,Paul Harfleet serving tea to Candice Jacobs from Stand Assembly). The main objective of the weekend was to create 'new adventures in networking', for more information on this event follow this link. In other news; Apartment is mentioned briefly in this months 'Museums Journal' (right) the article called 'Home Truths' explores the concept of living in a museum, exploring in this case Adam Nankervis and his museumMAN project. We're also featured in 'The Critical Friend' (full article below) a lovely 'fanzine' written and edited by Alex Michon and Olly Beck for more information follow this link The Critical Friend

The Critical Friend

2006-05-30T11:28:00.000Z

"So here we are in Manchester in the early evening dusk in the 60's tower block home of the artist Paul Harfleet which doubles as the Apartment gallery. We are looking at the work of the Hungarian artist Beata Veszely. Simple pen drawings of horse archery superimposed onto found art and fashion magazine pages. Horse-archery was the national sport of pre-communist era Hungary. Of Course I am nosily looking around the (very tidy) flat thinking about the chaos of my own back home which doubles as my studio. 'How do you manage it?' I ask Paul. 'well I'm used to it now' he says, 'and anyway it's an appointment basis so I can plan when I show people around. As we sit in the flat/gallery in the ever growing darkness, up in the skies surrounded by a vista of cranes of Manchester's great 'march forward' of neo-yuppie flat building, we watch the twinkling lights from the cars zooming by in the road below, the scene unfolds into an interesting whole with each part adding to the mix. There is a melancholic wistfulness, in these simple lovingly drawn horses and archers, floating like ghosts from another century onto these self important magazine pages. There is the whiff of lost socialist utopias, the sheer romanticism of Eastern European history all mixed up in a Judy Garland Mickey Rooneyesq 'lets put the show on right here in our barn' idealism. Liked it."

Alex Michon
Taken from Spring 2006 issue of 'The Critical Friend'
for more on this show follow this link

Compartment

2006-05-30T10:29:00.000Z

Surface Gallery recently invited Paul Harfleet and HIlary Jack to curate a show that would explore the position of Surface Gallery in the context of the British Art Show 06 and it's arrival in Nottingham. Everyone on the gallery's mailing list was invited to submit one work that would be no taller than 100cm. The show is on til May 11th. 64 artists took part in the show, a huge variety of work painted a complex picture of Surface gallery's position in Nottingham. One of the most exciting works was Tomas Chaffe's 'Get over it' pictured below. For more information visit Surface Gallery and Compartment.

www.nyartsmagazine.com

2006-05-30T09:03:00.000Z

Follow this link to read an article on the Manchester art scene; featuring Apartment!

David Wilkinson and Beáta Veszely - HÁ

2006-03-06T23:28:00.000Z

Above: ' Straight from the Heart' by BeataVeszely
Beáta Veszely and David Wilkinson

view by appointment until 2^nd April

Apartment is delighted to present HÁ; an exhibition of work of Hungarian based artists Beáta Veszely and David Wilkinson. Their trip to the U.K has been facilitated by Apartment in conjunction with Castlefield Gallery as part of their Project Space Mentoring Scheme. Their practice is especially relevant to our activities at Apartment as both artists have a history of curatorial projects based in their own homes and the homes of other artists, starting with “Wish You Were Here” in 1994 in Leeds (supported by the Henry Moore Sculpture Trust with Erlend Williamson) and “Wish You Were Here Too” in 1996 in Glasgow, with Charles Esche.

Beáta Veszely and David Wilkinson have collaborated since 1995 as curators, teachers and artists; they have exhibited extensively in the U.K and abroad, while in Hungary they co-direct TIPP, Tihany International Postgraduate Programme a course of study for international artists.’

Beáta Veszely

2006-03-06T16:49:00.000Z

Hungarian born Beáta Veszely works across media consistently exploring the symbiotic relationship between horse and human through new media, performance, drawing and painting. Her new work focuses on the Hungarian sport of horsearchery. For HÁ Veszely exhibits a series of ink drawings of horse portraits on found art magazines, fashion magazines, and daily newspapers. The simple pen drawings encourage a new reading to the existing printed media, whilst simultaneously experimenting with the interpretation of horsearchery in a contemporary cultural context.

The image above is an installtion shot of 'HA' Drawings'; some of which were framed others were not. The various ages and subject matter of the found magazine pages inform the reading of the work.

David Wilkinson

2006-03-06T15:40:00.000Z

David Wilkinson was born in the U.K and is now based in Budapest his current practice explores the notion of otherness using video, installation and sculptural intervention. ‘Simple Indifference is not enough; eventually curiosity will break your silence. We need them to renew ourselves, but once renewed our interest wanes, we see them as not us. The place where we encounter them and the place where we are most other is the foreign land. I live in a foreign land, for HA I have made a film and a sculpture to try to convey my home to you the viewer; some history, some people and some places that are familiar to me.’

David Wilkinson

2006-03-06T15:27:00.000Z

'Artuad Waving' above (operated by Paul Harfleet) and right. David Wilkinson constructed a life size mannequin resembling the influencial surrealist figure Antonin Artuad. This was then hung in the bedroom and was visible through a specially drilled hole in the bedroom door. A pully system activated from the living room; animated the 'puppet' creating a disturbing presence of ' other' in the bedroom of Apartment. David also showed 'Playing it for Laughs' a video made in Hungary that referenced the experience of 'other' as a foriegn resident abroad.

LoneLady

2006-03-03T11:18:00.000Z

LoneLady has been selected to perform at the world famous ‘South by Southwest’ festival in Austin, Texas; Apartment is hosting a one off acoustic fundraising gig:

Thursday March 2^nd 7pm-9pm @ Apartment

The reason for this unexpected creative alliance is that Apartment and LoneLady both reside at Lamport Court; AKA ‘Rock ‘n Roll Towers’. Whilst Apartment runs its artistic activities from the sixth floor; LoneLady writes and records her music in an architecturally identical seventh floor flat. So in an unbridled celebration of this hot bed of artistic and creative talent Apartment is proclaiming allegiance with Lonelady by hosting this fundraising event in the hope that LoneLady is able to exploit every opportunity presented to her in the USA.

“Spewing forth from her Manchester Council flat… LoneLady conjures up sleazy, guttural mantras backed by her blazing Telecaster”

City Life Magazine

For more information on Lonelady visit: www.lonelady.blogspot.com

LoneLady

2006-03-03T11:00:00.000Z

Above an image of LoneLady's fantastic acoustic fundraising performance at Apartment; Thanks so much to all those who attended. We raised over £250 that will go towards funding LoneLady's trip to Texas. For More information on; and to keep track of LoneLady you can visit the site above, to listen to some samples of her music you can visit: www.myspace.com/hiholonelady

Visitor Assistance

2006-01-20T14:11:00.000Z

Visitor Assistance premiered during Apartment's contribution to SOCIAL WORK: FOUR LIVE PROJECTS at the Cornerhouse (14th January - 16th April): The project during the show has developed into an informal network of artists that are willing to assist cultural visitors from Dublin, London, Glasgow, The Hague and beyond, e-mail Apartment for more information.

Have you ever said to a friend; I know someone in the city you’re traveling to, here’s their number give them a call?

Visitor Assistance takes this occasional gesture between friends and transforms it into a global network of artists that operate as cultural city guides. So called Visitor Assistants are specially selected for their social adeptness and intimate knowledge of their native city. A visitor simply calls the number on specially distributed Visitor Assistance cards. The caller will be connected to an amiable artist who will help in any way they can.

The launch of Visitor Assistance is part of the exhibition Social Work: Four Live Projects (14 January – 16 April 2006) for Cornerhouse Projects. Business cards will be placed on the public telephone in the lobby at Cornerhouse and will be regularly replenished in order to maintain Visitor Assistance’s presence over the three month period. Badges will be worn by allocated visitor assistants; identifying the wearer as a friendly face and representative of Visitor Assistance.

“I arrived in London, I was overwhelmed by the listings, I called the number and my Visitor Assistant was so helpful. She told me where the best art preview was in town, and how to get there. When I arrived, I spotted someone wearing a visitor assistant badge and I knew I had a friend in London! She introduced me to some really interesting people; I had a great time.”

The number on the card; 07799 204455 is the number of a mobile telephone that will be passed from assistant to assistant depending on the artists availability; a recorded message will be in place when no one is available, although every effort will be made to be available as frequently as possible during the running of The British Art Show 2006.

Disclaimer

Visitor assistance is an artwork, though the project is taken seriously by all concerned, the actual visitor assistant availability is dependant on realistic artist availability.

Each assistant will endeavor to offer correct information as much as possible though each visitor should be made aware that this is an artwork.

Every visitor assistant is an artist; this is their only qualification to participate with this project any expectations by visitors should take this into account.

Ken Chu - All We Were Saying

2005-12-21T04:02:00.000Z

Apartment is delighted to announce a special one off happening; 'All We Were Saying' by Ken Chu on Wednesday 21st December from 3-8pm.

Same sex civil partnerships will be legally recognized in England and Wales on 21 December 2005. All We Were Saying is a one-day performance work with two men in bed knitting for peace. All We Were Saying is looking to provide a public forum for ordinary queer citizens and their friends to respond to this momentous occasion in our history. The participants are Matt Bamber and Andy Hardman:

"We are partners, but stress that this piece is not about our relationship in particular. We are interested in the community and public response to Civil Partnership Laws." Matthew Bamber and Andrew Hardman

The work will be mounted in the bedroom of Apartment and the public is invited to participate. Apartment will be open from 3 – 8 pm for the community to gather in support of the knitters. Attendees may mark this occasion by publicly voicing their perspectives on same-sex civil unions. They are encouraged to bring guitars, knit, and participate in other communal activities. The work is informed by the Yoko Ono/John Lennon 1969 Amsterdam 'bed-in' for peace.

Ken Chu is currently the Breathe Resident Artist at the Chinese Arts Centre where he is developing several projects with artists and their social economies. For one of the projects, he is working alongside a group of knitters, including Andy and Matt, to knit sleeves from recycled plastic bags to fit over monochromatic paintings.

'All We Were Saying' is a grass roots effort facilitated by Apartment, Chinese Arts Centre, queerupnorth and Castlefield Gallery.

The Knitters

2005-12-21T00:03:00.000Z

Left; Matt and Andy in bed Knitting. More images will follow of the activities that occured during the day: Lone Lady popped by for an impromptu sing along and visitors came throughout the day to discuss the issues that Ken Chu had raised through the happening.

All We Were Saying

2005-12-21T00:01:00.002Z

Apartment were delighted to recieve the hat that began life in the bedroom of Apartment during the recent 'All We Were Saying' happening. A huge thank you Ken Chu and to the knitters; Matthew Bamber and Andrew Hardman for donating the hat to the permanant collection of Apartment.

The Metro

2005-12-21T00:01:00.001Z

All we were saying went really well, people came and chatted in the bedroom throughout the day. The above appeared in the Metro newspaper. Thanks to all those who attended, and to Ken Chu for realising such an interesting project and to Andy Hardman and Matt Bamber for being the knitters. More images will appear in the new year.

Northwest Tonight

2005-12-21T00:00:00.000Z

Right; Ken Chu appearing on NorthWest Tonight; BBC's regional news programme, Channel M also covered the story.

Compartment

2005-12-06T15:21:00.000Z

Compartment is a new artist led organisation exploring the showing of artwork in alternative locations, from shoebox to warehouse; brought to you by Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack.

The first show devised by Compartment; 'On the Shelf' (shown above) explored artist’s networks, personal relationships and their importance as an artist's professional resource. To reveal some of the mechanisms of this activity Hilary Jack invited the artist contacts she has accumulated over her ten year art career and invited them to take part in a group show; 'On the Shelf', this show was launched at Rogue Artists’ Studios Tenth Anniversary Open weekend on Saturday December 3rd. The response was fantastic and eighty artists participated from across the world, work arrived from Australia to Ireland, a full archive is available at: www.compartmentmanchester.blogspot.com
A huge thank you to all the artists that participated.

Cyclists Dismount

2005-09-10T14:43:00.000Z

Cyclists Dismount, the exhibition showcases the work of Apartment Collective; Cath Corlett, Paul Harfleet, Zac Ingham and Hilary Jack; this term refers to the artists who have researched, developed and made work specifically in reference to issues surrounding Apartment's location. Through discussion and collaboration the collective are able to act as producers, facilitating ideas from members. For Cyclists Dismount a selection of work and ongoing research is presented and also includes the work of two artists who are recent additions to the collective; Cherry Tenneson and Maeve Rendle.

Cath Corlett

2005-09-10T07:39:00.000Z

'Flat' by Cath Corlett; using A4 sheets of typing paper white-tac and sellotape Cath Corlett, Paul Harfleet, Zac Ingham and Hilary Jack covered every surface of the emptied living room of 49 Lamport Court. The resulting covering was then cut and bound into a three volume document which becomes a physical record of the interior space. For 'Cyclists Dismount' video documentaion was shown along with the three bound volumes.

2005-09-10T04:45:00.000Z

2005-09-10T04:43:00.000Z

Above the video documentation projected on the living room wall. A special thanks to Janet Griffiths for lending us the projector.

Hilary Jack

2005-09-09T10:22:00.000Z

'Sparrow House' by Hilary Jack; The alarming decline of one of Britain’s favourite birds; the house sparrow, to less than half its population in recent years has prompted the British Ornithology Trust to appoint a “Sparrow Tsar” to investigate. Alongside many modern day problems facing the birds, which prefer to live in large colonies, is the loss of nesting sites in urban areas. Hilary Jack has responded to this ornithological crisis by designing and installing a utopian, multiple occupancy bird house in a tree on the Lamport Court housing estate in the hope that they will return in large numbers to the area.

Maeve Rendle

2005-09-07T15:16:00.000Z

“Too up too down” is an example of dependency, a pursuit of independence and a resistance of free will. With 72 flats under the roof of Lamport court, a consistent and dedicated economy of space is preserved. The compact and repetitive packaging of the residents at Lamport court is where Maeve’s interest lies. A darkened space lit by a bulb alludes to a sense of mobility; the freedom of this mobility is compromised by the subject’s lack of intent or inability to leave certain parameters. A continual internal route from connection to connection, up or down, left or right joins and restricts each resident through their use of house hold appliances.

Paul Harfleet

2005-09-07T14:16:00.000Z

Apartment’s balcony overlooks a recently refurbished area which is intended to ease student’s passage through the newly merged Manchester University campus. The attention the grounds have received contrasts to the area surrounding Lamport Court, as the works end abruptly at the boundary to the estate. This visual distinction emphasises the social structures that coexist with mutual disregard. Paul Harfleet has photographed the Cyclists Dismount sign directed at, and consistently ignored by cyclists to draw attention to the complexities of these relationships.

Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack

2005-09-07T13:49:00.000Z

For ‘Ascent’ Paul and Hilary have chosen a fragrance to spray whenever they use the lift. This anonymous action will contribute to the aromatic experience of using the lift, creating a fragrant signature that will slowly seep into the resident’s sensual experience of the block, extending the emerging mythology surrounding the activity of Apartment within Lamport Court.

Cherry Tenneson

2005-09-07T07:30:00.000Z

Cherry Tenneson explores the written word through her work; from authoritative street signage to subconscious automatic writing Cherry is fascinated by the hierarchical meaning and significance of language. For this show Cherry wrote on the bathroom walls, the content of the writings are a record of inane internal ramblings which act as a comfort to Cherry as she deals with an intense fear of heights experienced whilst in Apartment. Also shown on the bed is a sign that humorously comments on street sign parlance.

2005-09-07T07:29:00.000Z

2005-09-01T15:48:00.000Z

Above the remnants of 'Joined' by Zac Ingham were recovered from the estate and placed in a jar. Please visit the February 2005 archive for more information about 'Joined'.

Breaking News

2005-09-01T12:31:00.000Z

It is with some sadness that Apartment must reveal that on July 14th, almost exactly nine months after first being installed; 'Joined' by Zac Ingham, snapped. The nylon thread that spanned the estate above is no longer in place. A combination of extreme weather conditions and general wear and tear appear to have taken its toll. Initial evidence suggests that it may have broken at Apartment's kitchen window. The thread has become tangled in a tree near Lockton Court. We are presently in the process of retrieving the thread to avoid any potential environmental damage.

Above is the expanse that was connected by 'Joined':
(a) = Lamport Court, where Apartment is situated;
(b) = Lockton Court.
White line = the nylon threads trajectory across the estate.

We estimate that approximately 500 people saw this piece of work, many more hearing about it through the press and word of mouth. Thank you to all those who came to see the work over the last nine months. Any comments can be left on the blog and for more information about 'Joined' see below, including images and press coverage.

2005-09-01T10:28:00.000Z

The article below featured in a recent issue of City Life shown above.

2005-09-01T10:27:00.000Z

Apartment Presents....

2005-06-08T13:09:00.000Z

Eight current Fine Art Ma Students show Recent Works; James Alderson, Mark Bergum, Melanie Delaney, Andrew Ellerby, Naomi Kashiwagi, Amanda Ravetz, Rita Slater and Charlie Taylor.

Naomi Kashiwagi

2005-06-07T16:50:00.000Z

The relationship between music, language and drawing processes and challenging standardizations within music are central to Naomi Kashiwagi’s practice. The process of translation is intrinsic to this exploration. For the preview Naomi sourced two musicians to play a 'duet' on the typewriters above in an exploration of the musicalities of the everyday.

Charlie Taylor

2005-06-07T16:48:00.000Z

The pathetic inadequacies of Taylor’s performances present an entropic experience of the spaces that she inhabits. Her presence acts as a point of focus for these elements. The image shown is a component of Documentation of performance without audience. Charlie also did a performance during the opening; where she sat on top of the underpass leading to Apartment for an hour.

Andrew Ellerby

2005-06-07T16:46:00.000Z

Samuel Beckett ‘Watt’ is a highly idiosyncratic portrait of a man who is himself the embodiment of a number of ideas and outlooks. The various combinations and permutations of events in Watt constantly reiterate points about philosophic outlooks and human possibilities. Andrew placed computer print outs directly onto the living room wall in a grid; all containing texts derived from Samuel Beckett's writings.

Amanda Ravetz

2005-06-07T16:45:00.001Z

Amanda Ravetz makes videos and drawings exploring the fugitive elements of memory. For this show Amanda made a wall drawing with the aid of a projection which was shown projecting over the drawing intermittently. A book entitled 'Calling Home' was also shown, an image from which is shown below.

Melanie Delaney

2005-06-07T16:45:00.000Z

Delaney attempts to locate the point at which creativity takes place, both mentally and physically, drawing on the allegorical qualities of everyday objects to reveal their significance as cultural phenomena. Here the pastimes of jigsaws and crosswords are investigated as visual and social constructs. Morphic resonance is a form of collective telepathic transference rumoured to be experinced by crossword buffs. It is apparently easier to solve a crossword in the evening than in the morning of publication, as more people have done it. The above hand drawn crossword replica was copied from The Guardian published on the day of the preview and was shown on the kitchen table, a jigsaw was also shown in the living room.

2005-06-07T16:44:00.000Z

James Alderson

2005-06-07T16:42:00.000Z

After spending years attempting to paint landscapes, James Alderson has now realised that it isn’t possible to paint landscapes. However, he is continuing to attempt to paint landscapes anyhow because that’s what he does, and in doing so he appears to be making landscapes out of paint. James placed his paintings in the living room.

Rita Slater

2005-06-07T16:40:00.000Z

Rita Slater draws on her experiences as a nurse. The body and its care are central to her work. Altering the form and function of reclaimed domestic or institutional furniture she investigates not only surface but also internal space, exploring ideas of memory and memorial, intimacy and distance. The piece above; 'Closer', was a chair encased in a plywood cuboid and placed in the living room.

Mark Burgum

2005-06-07T15:37:00.000Z

Mark Burgum’s practice explores the drawing process to communicate ideas surrounding urban regeneration. This detail was taken from the untitled work Mark showed in the Kitchen.

2005-04-18T18:03:00.000Z

The Good Life

2005-04-18T17:34:00.000Z

The Good Life presents the work of ten artists based in Manchester, London and Philadelphia. Apartment rejoices in the nature of self-sufficiency, ingenuity and our elavated city centre location. However The Good Life has a dark side and dysfunction and discord are never far away.

The artists are Alice Bradshaw, Mathew Brotherhood, David Gledhill, Paul Harfleet, Gary Leddington, Maeve Rendle, Cherry Tenneson, Rachel Tweddell, John Tiney and Ian Vail.

The show previewed on Thursday 14th April and was our busiest yet. Below are some images of the featured artists.

Paul Harfleet 07870 244 153 Hilary Jack 07957 398 451 or e-mail: apartmentmanchester@hotmail.co.uk

Mathew Brotherhood

2005-04-18T16:29:00.000Z

Mathew Brotherhood studied at the Slade and was selected for New Contempories in 2001. He is London based and has exhibited internationally. Mathew showed this untitled work above in the bedroom and 'Mental ill Being' shown below in the kitchen. He also showed E.T. in the living room a mixed media twist on our perceptions of the friendly alien.

2005-04-18T14:08:00.000Z

Rachel Tweddell

2005-04-18T14:07:00.000Z

Rachel Tweddell graduated from Goldsmith's ma in 2003. Rachel makes photographs, short films and books of short stories that draw on fleeting moments, coincidence and surprise. Recent shows include; 'Surveillance' at the Three Colts Gallery, London and Avvistamenti video festival Italy. Rachel showed 'Rabbit'; a photograph developed from a found negative in the living room as seen below.

Maeve Rendle

2005-04-18T14:06:00.001Z

Maeve is a recent graduate of the Manchester Metropolitan University Fine Art Ma. Her process involves the use of photography and installation. Last summer her work was selected by Mika Hanula for a show in Helsinki. Above is her table; 'Legs 11' this was accompanied by a series of photographs one of which is shown below. Rachel Tweddell's photograph can also be seen in the picture above.

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