Text by Georgia Vesma
Occupying a Victorian fish market and housing numerous craft and design boutiques, as well as a very nice cafe, The Manchester Craft and Design Centre can be seen as something of a hidden gem in the city. It is also a champion of modern crafting and making, providing an outlet for creators of everything from delicate jewellery to robust pottery. As you might expect, exhibitions at the Centre put crafts front and centre, making a compelling argument for the value of the more ‘practical’ arts in a scene more dominated by fine artists. Every piece displayed is for sale – and, importantly, you might actually want to buy them.
Forming Words takes language as its starting point, showcasing crafts by designers exploring how form and structure can be influenced by text. Inspirations range from the idiosyncratic qualities of antique printed paper to the looping forms of handwritten words. As the catalogue notes, text is part of our everyday lives: it therefore seems that crafts, with their more practical sensibility, are uniquely poised to engage with text at a creative level. A number of the works have ‘real-world’ uses, whether as jewellery or crockery.
The works on display are diverse in medium; at the centre of the exhibit, displayed side-by-side, are Cecilia Levy’s delicate papier mâché artichoke flowers and Matthew Raw’s hefty terracotta piece The Language Filter. The Craft and Design Centre seems keen to dispel the image of crafting as a twee activity for little old ladies, with a number of the pieces on display having a rather weighty quality – Jonathan Boyd’s Clyde Built, a brooch cast in oxidised silver, is some of the most aggressively butch jewellery I’ve ever seen. Similarly, Enya Moore’s cast aluminum engraved Kitchen Tools seem almost threatening when compared to some of the daintier pieces. The contrast between the more ‘traditional’ crafts and the edgier examples is pleasingly balanced, with a genuine feeling that there’s something for everyone.
Another charming aspect to Forming Words, and to the Centre in general, is the programme of events surrounding the exhibition. In the atrium of the building visitors have the opportunity to participate in ongoing community craft projects, creating words out of wool in the style of exhibitor Debbie Smyth or a (somewhat less successful) attempt at creating a collaborative paper flower using Post-its inscribed with people’s favourite words. While community crafts could easily fall into dangerously twee territory, here they add an extra dimension, reinforcing the idea that creating is something that everyone can do.
Forming Words makes good use of limited space to showcase a large number of interesting, diverse objects that have genuine buyer appeal. The exhibition itself might be on the small side, but the Centre is always well worth a visit, especially if you have money to spend and an urge to support the crafts in the North West. Be warned, however, you won’t find many tea cosies here – but you may come away seriously inspired.
Forming Words is on display at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre until 9 November 2013.
Georgia Vesma is a recent graduate living, working and writing in Manchester.
Published 01.09.2013 by Steve Pantazis in Reviews
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