Last weekend I visited my boyfriend in Manchester, which seemed to me like the perfect visit to the Manchester art gallery (much to his disapproval, he's not a fan of art galleries!) But I love this gallery so he kindly agreed to accompany me and luckily the main temporary exhibition was titled 'the sensory war', which actually drew him in because of his boyish fascination with war.
The selection of art works in the exhibition was a range of photographs, paintings, prints and film. The work was also a range of modern and historical wars. One piece that really caught my attention was a huge c-type print of a photograph titled 'Balloon Seller outside a former Teahouse' by Simon Norfolk. The piece fascinated me firstly because the photograph beautifully captures a balloon seller, in Afghanistan, with brightly coloured balloons surrounded by rubble in a town that has been destroyed by war. Balloons were banned during the start of the war in Afghanistan by the Taliban, so the man being where he is with his balloons makes a huge political stand and portrays the bravery of those involved in the horrific fighting and destruction over there. Secondly, because the subject matter is relevant to a war that is happening today, and has been happening for many years in our lifetime. I think when people think of 'War Art' they think of wwi and ww 2 adaptations and observations of brave soldiers and war grounds, so I like the fact that this photograph showed a part of War that is still happening and has been going on for so many years.
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| 'Balloon Seller outside a former Teahouse' by Simon Norfolk, c-type print |
Another part of the exhibition that I loved was a series of drawings by Sophie Jodoin. The drawings were of gas masks done in Conté on Mylar, giving them light and dark tones and a great contrast between both, they are very atmospheric and passionate. The drawings capture the darkness and the anxiety that would be felt by the wearers when in a situation where they were forced to be in them for a long period of time. A lot of Jodoins work is very dark, but descriptive, which fits perfectly with the subject of 'Sensory War', because it captures the feelings of War and affects the senses with their beauty and depth.
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| Conté on Mylar by Sophie Jordoin |
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| Conté on Mylar by Sophie Jordoin |
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