Ghostly portraits: Marsha Balaeva at Cornerhouse

Cornerhouse presents the illustrations of multi-talented London-based Russian artist Marsha Balaeva. Known by some as the creator and director of numerous music videos, including two for Canadian indie band Moonface in which Balaeva’s hand drawn animations feature heavily, the bar and café area will host the solo exhibition Ghostly Portraits; an investigation by the artist into how people interpret the multiple beliefs and superstitions which surround inhabiting spirits within the body. A collaborative effort as such, Balaeva asked people to sketch what they believed to be their inhabiting spirit in coloured pencil on paper, the artist then drew the sitter’s portrait in the foreground of the same page in graphite, the result being a single interactive piece that creates a dialogue between each image. Otherworldly and eerie Balaeva’s illustrations examine spirits, guardian angels and protectors and their place within numerous belief systems.

Thu 6 Mar to Tue 1 Apr, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH. Tel: 0161 200 1500, www.cornerhouse.org