Cyclists Dismount

Cyclists Dismount, the exhibition showcases the work of Apartment Collective; Cath Corlett, Paul Harfleet, Zac Ingham and Hilary Jack; this term refers to the artists who have researched, developed and made work specifically in reference to issues surrounding Apartment's location. Through discussion and collaboration the collective are able to act as producers, facilitating ideas from members. For Cyclists Dismount a selection of work and ongoing research is presented and also includes the work of two artists who are recent additions to the collective; Cherry Tenneson and Maeve Rendle.

Cath Corlett

'Flat' by Cath Corlett; using A4 sheets of typing paper white-tac and sellotape Cath Corlett, Paul Harfleet, Zac Ingham and Hilary Jack covered every surface of the emptied living room of 49 Lamport Court. The resulting covering was then cut and bound into a three volume document which becomes a physical record of the interior space. For 'Cyclists Dismount' video documentaion was shown along with the three bound volumes.

Above the video documentation projected on the living room wall. A special thanks to Janet Griffiths for lending us the projector.

Above the remnants of 'Joined' by Zac Ingham were recovered from the estate and placed in a jar. Please visit the February 2005 archive for more information about 'Joined'.

Breaking News

It is with some sadness that Apartment must reveal that on July 14th, almost exactly nine months after first being installed; 'Joined' by Zac Ingham, snapped. The nylon thread that spanned the estate above is no longer in place. A combination of extreme weather conditions and general wear and tear appear to have taken its toll. Initial evidence suggests that it may have broken at Apartment's kitchen window. The thread has become tangled in a tree near Lockton Court. We are presently in the process of retrieving the thread to avoid any potential environmental damage.

Above is the expanse that was connected by 'Joined':
(a) = Lamport Court, where Apartment is situated;
(b) = Lockton Court.
White line = the nylon threads trajectory across the estate.

We estimate that approximately 500 people saw this piece of work, many more hearing about it through the press and word of mouth. Thank you to all those who came to see the work over the last nine months. Any comments can be left on the blog and for more information about 'Joined' see below, including images and press coverage.

Joined by Zac Ingham

By Zac Ingham and Cath Corlett, Joined is a single piece of nylon thread spanning a 200m gap between two tower blocks. The thread exits a living room window of a flat on the seventh floor of Lockton Court visible above, and enters the sixth floor kitchen window of Apartment in Lamport Court.

Joined

The thread was thrown out of the window of Lockton Court guided by Cath and Zac across the estate. Then winched up to Apartment using another peice of the thread. For the opening the thread was lit from Lockton Court, video documentation filmed and edited by Hilary that revealed some of the process was shown in the living room.

AN Magazine

The above article appeared in AN magazine in May 2005.

8020

The following was published in Eighty Twenty Magazine in January.

There was a time when attaching a couple of tin cans to a piece of string and dangling one out of your bedroom window was a simple way to communictae with a friend. We quickly moved on to walkie talkies, mobile phones and instant messanging services that cross continents in nano seconds and its with this in mind that I find myself standing beside the Mancunian Way on a wintry afternoon to document an event that we've been planning for some time.
Its cold and my fingers can barely operate the camera. Cath holds her arm up above her head, her hand tightly clutching a thin transparent wire which leads up high into the grey Manchester sky. Passers by stare up squinting, looking for the kite. But there is nothing. They walk on puzzled.

In a flat on the seventh floor of Lockton Court 100 yards away, a coffee mug anchors the same nylon thread between the opened window and its frame. The line leads diagonally out and down six storeys, skimming the tops of puny urban trees, running neatly beside the roofs of council houses, under telephone wires, street lamps, across security fencing and down into Caths hand.

From the walkway of the sixth floor of Lamport Court, Zac reels the nylon thread in, its pulled taut and it snaps into place like a giant guitar string. Its carefully passed through ballustrades and round glass partitioning, along the corridor and through the open window of number 49. Theres a flurry of activity as pots and pans are moved out of the way just as the clock strikes three. The thread is passed through the window, and finally is tied round the stainless steel kitchen tap and the connection is made.

Theres a sigh of relief and we all go outside to see what we've done. The coffee mug and the tap, the two flats, the two tower blocks are joined, by an alomost but not quite invisible thread, which spans the abyss. Paul takes his mobile phone and dials his freind in Lockton Court to tell her the job is done. We can hear her voice as she answers imediately. An invisible connection that has taken just a couple of seconds.

Hilary Jack

Apartment Collective

Apartment Collective has been formed as a result of the close working relationship developed over the past year between Cath Corlett, Zac Ingham, Paul Harfleet and Hilary Jack. 'Joined' marked the inception of the collaboration and the collective have other projects in mind, with a focus on our common interests; the politics of location being the most presient.

Zac Ingham and Cath Corlett

The kitchen is where Zac Ingham; the artist in residence shows his work. Zac and collaborator Cath Corlett went to the Pennines with an industrial strimmer and cut a fifteen-foot circle into the side of a hill. This piece visible on a clear day with binoculars from the flat’s kitchen window locates the exhibition space in the north of England and asks the viewer to consider the location of the building in which we stand to the surrounding countryside. Something that whilst in the centre of a city we seldom do.