Text by Carol Huston
Photo by Clara Casian
Manchester’s 4a Piccadilly Place stands as a vacant commercial building situated between a busy bus route and a series of tramlines. Lined with wall-to-wall windows, the columned interior space is both unfinished and raw, making it a suitable destination for an under the radar art exhibition such as Projection.
Produced by Frances Blythe, Projection brought together an eclectic mix of early career artists from Manchester, Glasgow and Helsinki. Consisting predominantly of video works, the exhibition also included drawings by Naomi Lethbridge, Eileen O’Rourke and Clara Casian. Utilising the space to its maximum potential, the exhibition incorporated a video projected onto the ceiling as well as chalk drawings on the floor alongside traditionally displayed video works and wall hangings. The preview night offered a sound performance by Mark Pilkington.
I caught up with three of the artists to gain some insight into their practice and future plans.
Photo by Clara Casian
ARTUU MERIMAA
With a background in Applied Sciences, Artuu Merimaa, who is currently finishing his MA in Helsinki, also runs a small gallery and runs collaborative curatorial projects. He is a frequent collaborator with another Projection exhibitor, Joonas Jokiranta.
Artuu Merimaa: ‘After finishing my BA in Tampere which is a smaller city in Finland I wanted to move to a bit more active surroundings. In Helsinki I’m finishing my MA and working on my videos as well as running a small store-front gallery and doing curatorial projects that deal with colleagual art practice.’
Photo courtesy of Oliver Braid
OLIVER BRAID
Glasgow-based artist Oliver Braid’s work fuses interaction, humour and digital design. His exhibited works can be visited at www.myfivenewfriends.com and www.youllgetusedtoit.com.
Oliver Braid: ‘My studio is in the city centre of Glasgow, about half an hour walk from my house. I’ve lived in Glasgow since 2008 when I started my MFA at Glasgow School of Art and always had in mind that I’d stay there for a period of time after I finished. I still just really love living here. Planning to study somewhere, to me, implies that you might want to set up a life there beyond just education.’
Photo by Clara Casian
CLARA CASIAN
Romanian-born, Manchester-based artist Clara Casian’s background lies in mural art. Currently she is experimenting with video and mark-making and plans to evolve her practice into theatrical performance.
Clara Casian: ‘I have a studio at Rogue – an old textile mill now a complex of creative spaces rented to artists that practice in various mediums. Its drive behind is to encourage collaboration and creative practices through its unique open-feel structuring of the studios and the various collaborative projects making this a good vibrant hub for creative talent in Manchester. I personally think it leaves great space for interpretation and usage of the spaces and good opportunities for getting involved and develop new strings of initiatives.’
Projection is on view from 13 July to 16 July, 1pm-4pm, at 4a Piccadilly Place, Manchester.
Carol Huston is a Manchester-based writer and editor. She is the Local City Editor in Manchester for Dazed and Confused.
Published 15.07.2012 by Bryony Bond
553 words