Modern Japanese Design Exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery!
This was one of the reasons we went to Manchester, I have been looking forward to this exhibition for a while, as I'm very inspired by Japanese culture and their values.
The exhibition was situated at the Manchester Art Gallery. The art gallery was showing room after room of paintings. One modern painting in particular caught my eye.
The painting showed Skulls growing out of a plant, this was painted on reclaimed wood which was a great contrast and an interesting material. The image itself played on the idea of the living & the dead.
Roses 2007
Jai Redman an inspiring artist, an environmental activist with thought provoking art.
We walked up to the Modern Japanese Design exhibition area on the third floor.
The exhibition was in a spacious room. On the right hand side there was this beautiful arrangement of clothing and interior design pieces. The colour scheme was monochrome with hints of bright red, the concept was very pleasing to look at. This exhibition was showing the work of great designers such as Issey Myiake, Rei Kawakubo.
The garments were a mixture of draping and 3D shapes.
I wasn't so keen on the way garments that were placed in the middle, of the room. There was no colour scheme involved, the garments looked like they needed ironed, they just didn't sit well together, which was a shame.
Among the exhibition there were Japanese definitions on the walls, which were great to read.
Among the exhibits there was a variation of clay items that were transformed into geometric shapes, which resembled pleating.
There was also plastic art, made out of recycled PET bottles, they were formed into geometric shapes that could be flat packed and opened out.
Wandered about Chinatown!
Basically a row of Chinese restaurants takaway and gift shops which where very cute, selling all sorts of gifts. The main reason we went was to look at the immense Chinese gate.
Afflecks Palace
A building that's full of creativity. You could spend hours in there getting lost. The best thing was whilst walking up the stairs they had thought provoking words advertising no derogatory labels.
Image credit: http://www.johnmeephotography.com/return-to-afflecks-palace/
Bundobust
We visited bundobust for a quick snack, the restaurant was a lot bigger than the Leeds venue. It was between 12-4pm so we were able to get 2 dishes for £7 they tasted delicious and were quite filling, my favourite dish was the okra fries. They have a great variety of vegan options which is great!
Material World Panel Debate at Selfridges
Whilst we were walking around the venue we spotted signs on the rails of designers for the Material World campaign. I was slightly disappointed there wasn't a whole concession/area specifically for material World. The talk was on the menswear floor next to the community clothing concession. We were welcomed to the event with a champagne reception also elderflower and raspberry drink for the non drinkers. It was one of the most intriguing and thought provoking events I have attended.
Talking about all things sustainable and what the panellist do to retain a sustainable business. They offered advice on what emerging designers could do to be sustainable.
Read more about Selfridges sustainability policy here:
http://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/features/info/sustainability