things are growing!

After many meetings in Nina and Mandy's studio, at the Chinese Arts Centre and at the costume shop the exhibition is starting to come together..

I've worked at House of Haynes since November 2007. For me the shop evokes many things; being a child, connotations of disguise, hiding oneself and questions about what can be perceived as reality. It reminds me of my mother making clothes, and growing up with my grandfather leading me to believe he was a magician. It seems I grew up with the concept that 'magic' is real and possible, and is there crackling just beneath the surface. As a child I remember really concentrating on the world I could see in the mirror, the reverse of what surrounded me. I wanted to find a way in and live there for a while. House of Haynes can feel very removed from Oldham Steet just down below. It poses strong questions of relating to space and interacting with people.

I graduated in 2007. Since December last year I have had a space at Bankley Studio, Levenshulme. When I first moved in I spent a lot of time looking out at the peak district hills from my third floor window. They stretch right across, panoramically. I wanted to go there- wanted to stand on the hills and look back. Finally in March I did. My intention for the exhibiton is based on this longing. Whether this connects to 'escape' in the literal sense I am uncertain. What I do know is that it inadvertantly recalls the strange layers of my childhood that float back, and a longing for 'the other' whatever that may be.