CUBE Gallery- Alix Dessain

Richard Brooks, a lecturer in Architect, came in to talk to us about the new art school but more specifically about the 4 internal concrete pillars within the building. Rather than being 4 plain pillars they have been moulded with a floral pattern, designed by former Manchester School of Art pupil Lewis Day. By adding the floral pattern the harshness of the grey concrete has been softened and makes the pillars look a lot more attractive and interesting and I’m looking forward to being able to see the pillars myself. It was interesting seeing what is usually considered a very industrial material being used in such a way to give it a softer and more textural look.  

He also spoke about the current exhibition at the Cube Gallery ‘Infra_MANC’ which looks at the post war development of the infrastructure in the city.  I went to see this exhibition and really enjoyed it as I was able to look into the geographical history of the city. I was intrigued by the underground system that is in the city and has made me want to explore this more and incorporate it into my project. The underground world of Manchester that many people don’t know about or even know exists reminded me of the mystery of the alleyways in Marrakech where people don’t know what is around the next corner or what lies on the other side of the alley walls.

Here are a few pictures of detailed maps with patterns and colours that I found interesting and appealed to me.

 

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ARRIVALS TASK- Alix Dessain

To begin the project we were asked to imagine arrving at a place. I decided to look at arriving in Marrakech, Morocco, as when I visited the country last summer there was such a stark contrast to England that I felt and saw as soon as I stepped off the plane, despite only being 3 hours away on the plane.  The biggest difference to me was the colour, arriving from a drab and grey England to a city full of warm shades of oranges, yellows and red was refreshing and gave the city an striking look immediately.

I loved the hustle and bustle that is seen along the street and the alleys within the medina. Anywhere you walk down there is some sort of activity happening, whether its children playing outside their homes, cats running around, a donkey cart pulling oranges along, a motorbike about to run you over, men rushing to the mosque at prayer call, there is always something going in and even late into the night there was still constant activity going on in the alleys.

But this is in complete  contrast to when you enter a riad, a traditional Moroccan house with an internal open-air courtyard. What appears to be a dull, ordinary looking and often suspicious door off a winding alley of the medina opens up into a tranquil surrounding that feels a million miles away from the chaos outside.  Once inside, you feel very calm and content being surrounded by gorgeous coloured tiles, lanterns hanging everywhere and amazing rugs and textiles scattered on the floor. The noise from the alleys and streets is completely hidden and the only sound you can hear from the outside world is the mosque calling the Moroccans to prayer which is heard several times a day from one of the numerous mosques found within the medinas walls. From the rooftop, you can see across all of the roof tops within the medina and the towers of the mosques.

Marrakesh was such an exciting place to spend time in, there was so much to look at and admire when I was wandering through the souks and streets that I want to revisit my time here and wish that I was still there!

DAVE HASLAM

This week we started our new unit, Unit X. As part of the unit there are a number of talks that have been put on, one of them was by Dave Haslam, a Dj from Manchester.

Although I had never heard of Dave Haslam and knew nothing about him, his talk last Tuesday was interesting. He talked about the famous music scene in Manchester and about the ‘unknown and secret’ Manchester. Some of the venues he mentioned, such as the Kraak Gallery in the Northern Quarter, have made me want to go out and explore the smaller independent places that can be found here.  I knew Manchester was famous for its music scene and that countless bands started out in the city, but I never knew that there were so many musicians that were established here such as Joy Division, The Chemical Brothers and Doves.