The Gallery St George’s House, 2 St. George's Road, Bolton BL1 2DD.
City like me is supported by Castlefield gallery's New Art Spaces, in creative partnership with neo:artists
A solo exhibition of new artworks by Steph Shipley as she uncovers the secrets of Rivington Terraced Gardens on the outskirts of Bolton
The once luxurious country retreat of Lord Leverhulme, designed and realised by him in the early 1900s and what now remains of its fascinating past will hold special memories for many visitors. For the final major research project of my MA in Fine Art Site & Archive Interventions at the University of Central Lancashire, I am responding to what I have found there, my research into local archives and the many hours spent in the gardens during the last 12 months.
Places that exude a sense of past, a public fascia and private interior; where a gap or an interval might pervade their obsolescence or revival, are a frequent source of curiosity. Temporary sites and spaces that vanish as swiftly as they appear hold the same allure as those that accumulate time and those that forbid or restrict access or withhold clear answers in terms of their purpose or history. Through film, projection, photography and printmaking City like me expresses notions of loss, transience and nostalgia within these sites of heterotopia or otherness.