Having launched earlier this month, Archives at Play continues at Castlefield Gallery with the work of artists Gregory Herbert, Kelly Jayne Jones and Dr. Yan Wang Preston on display.
Through artwork, sound and photographic series, they unpick our complex relationship with the past to interrogate our received ideas about equality, identity and ecology.
Running until Sun 24 Apr, the exhibition aims to confront the archival structures that have led us to unquestioningly accept various constructs and beliefs, and offer a vital means of challenging them in future.
On Sun 10 Apr, Dr. Wang Preston introduces her photographic series English Gardens—a monochromatic study of plant species traditionally labelled ‘invasive’, inspired by Chinese bird-and-flower compositions—shown alongside Herbert’s disruptive installation around the gallery’s plumbing, conjuring new visual ecosystems to ignite discussions about the structures of history and how certain dogmas become naturalised.
Art students from the University of Manchester will lead a tour of the archives with their own interpretations of the work on Wed 13 Apr, while visitors will be able to explore the gallery archive itself throughout the exhibition.
On Thu 21 Apr, Kelly Jayne Jones will deliver a live performance that employs sound to create a ritual site, motivated both by the climate crisis a deep concern for how we engage with the environment.
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Thu 31 Mar 2022
