Apartment presents...
Alice Bradshaw creates a sense of curiosity through the manipulation of everyday mass produced objects which are often rendered dysfunctional caricatures of themselves. Her intention is to blur distinctions between the absurd and the mundane by creating or accentuating subtleties, whilst addressing concepts of purpose and futility. 
Liz Murphy invites the spectator to create narratives drawn from suggestions laid within her work involving the audience in the creative process, giving the viewer ownership of the finished piece; thus bridging the gap between the alienation of the artist and their practice within society. ‘84 Steps’ as shown above was installed in the stairwell of
Edward Payne is a sculptor whose architectural model aesthetic (shown above) hints at a possible narrative without giving away a story. He aims to work in a disinterested way while at the same time acknowledging the impossibility of a truly disinterested practice. This allows the work to have its own life without the artist acting as illustrator. In this way a dialogue is created between artist, work and viewer, ‘surface block’ is a work that is positioned at the functioning table in the living room. 
Jon Turner takes mundane domestic objects as subject matter, and questions their hierarchical standing in a social context. He manipulates the appearance of these items by using disassociated methods; he aims to create a sense of potential sentimentality towards the modified items; by provoking a sense of uncertainty in terms of the reading and acceptance of the re-modified object. By using facets of domestic interior design in the manipulation, he questions the traits of domesticity and the placement of craft and craftsmanship in a time of mass-production. For this show Jon augmented Apartment’s existing mop bucket. The untitled work above was then placed in the kitchen.
Martha Webster presents ‘There is NOTHING on this wall’. Martha is preoccupied with words and their meanings. Her work explores the complexity of learnt language and the changing experience of vocabulary. For this show Martha has explored the word ‘NOTHING’ and its meaning. By placing the word ‘NOTHING’ on the left hand living room wall in very small white vinyl, Martha highlights the interplay between the meaning of a word and its physical existence.
(Vinyl lettering supplied and installed by Cherry Tenneson)
Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack have just returned from New York where they both participated in the Conflux Festival a contemporary exploration of psychogeography this fascinating collection of "International artists, Technologists, urban adventurers and the public" worked across New York. Paul took The Pansy Project and Hilary 'Make do and Mend'; each of them made site specific works based in Williamsburg where the festival was based. Alot of artist-led activity is going on in the area, a favourite gallery was Pierogi; the current show being an interesting take on 911. To find out more about the festival click here and visit Glowlab to find out more on psychogeography. Back in Manchester, Apartment is getting ready for the next show; Contents May Vary previews next week, more information below. .bmp)
