Ellie Birkenhead-Jones: Off The Fence! at 2022NQ

My intention was to attend the opening night party, but as usual, it took my boyfriend and I far too long to leave the house and didn't got there until after 10, not realising it was closing by 11. However we still managed to have a quick nosey around. "Off The Fence! is an exhibition to see if we should climb down off of the fence or sit in the middle with no opinions and making no decisions." There were a series of screen prints by Manchester based designer Nathan Linney aka 'Loose Bait'. I also got chatting to Ffion Kilby who, working with cousin Jacob Greeves, created 'Atmosphere'. Ffion told me how she had been inspired by Su Blackwells work at the First Cut exhibition at Manchester City Gallery. The piece was really interesting to look at. The way the light shon onto the piece cast shadows of the leaves and branches onto the book it was displayed on. I also liked how the photos that inspired the piece were displayed either side. I soometimes wish work was diplayed like this more often. I think displaying development or inspiration along side a piece can enhance the overall feel and enable the viewer to get a better sense of the artists vision. Rebecca McDonnell's 'Clear Series' was really atmospheric. There were 3 photographs were in black and white, used the light source and relflection to create geometric shapes. She worked into the negatives by scratching to create texture. Corin Hall's mixed media pieces were really interesting. By projecting a photo of a woman's face onto a human sculpture, the image becomes distorted and resembles the characteristics of a lion. Also exhibited were the prints of Robert Lomas, depicting the profiles of Neil Armstrong, John Lennon and Patti Smith accompanied by their insight. The use of colour was really interesting, using brights and blending techniques.