osa/ MERZEN/

Recently around Manchester, there has been a festival showcasing exhibitions and happenings the have been inspired by Kurt Schwitters. Titled MERZMAN, the festival explores the artist's legacy in modern architecture and contemporary art practice. A month or so ago, I went to view Ingo Gerken's exhibition at Castlefield Gallery as part of the festival, which if I am honest I was completely disappointed by. With this in mind I really wasn't sure what to expect but wanted to experience Cube's event with an open mind.

It was an odd set up - at first I wasn't sure whether I had entered the correct room, as it was filled with planks of wood, old doors, scraps of building materials - and even a broken litter bin - which was curious to see in a gallery space to say the least. It looked like a junk site, however we were soon given a run-down of what the show was about, and there was a lot more material to read which helped explain the idea behind the show. This was already an improvement on the previous Castlefield exhibition, as previously we hadn't been given any explanation of what we were supposed to be viewing. 

osa's installation was a representation of Schwitters' well-known collage technique, which he called Merz. The artist invited the public of Manchester to bring along any found or unwanted items that could be contributed to the installation (hence the "junk" we discovered on entering the building). The idea was to transform the gallery in order to blur the border between existing space and installation, or frame and content. This is exactly what Schwitters' was exploring in his collages - one of which was featured as part of the exhibition. His work has been really highly regarded by me for a very long time and it was amazing to see it on display as I have yet been able to do so. His collages are so intricate and visually stimulating. I loved the fragments of old type and stamps the most.

The exhibition set up, allowed me to view these random fragments of Manchester in a different light; plastic construction fencing cast vivid shadows on the wall and the orange colour contrasted beautifully to some planks of wood that had been hung next to it. Roadwork barriers held from the ceiling formed layers against the gallery's fan. I began taking photographs of what I saw, which themselves became installation collages. Here are some of my favourite snapshots:

I thought this was a much better representation of the Schwitters legacy. It was interactive, dynamic and really made you view the somewhat mundane elements in a different way; a sort of beautiful context displacement.