Art exhibition: And now we are Plastic at The Whitworth Manchester

For the first time, the Whitworth Young Contemporaries (WYC), a group of Manchester-based 15 to 25 year olds who meet weekly to collaborate with emerging artists, are presenting a curated exhibition. These young people have had the opportunity to delve into the Whitworth’s extensive in-house collections of textiles, paintings, print, drawing and sculpture. The WYC use the defining material of the 20th century’s demarcation as an era of consumption, plastic, to explore how creativity and art or craft production has changed down the centuries. With objects on display ranging from Egyptian textiles to pop art by Richard Hamilton and work by the postmodern artist Marc Quinn, plastic becomes plasticity, i.e. change. This is youth, looking back in wonder on the evidence of this change, from their position, outlined in exhibition literature, as digital natives. Part of this wonder, no doubt, stems from breadth of the collection so lovingly conserved by the good people of the Whitworth.

Sat 27 Jan- Sun 2 Apr, The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. Tel: 0161 275 7450, times vary, FREE
www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk