Exhibition review: Made for Manchester

 I finally made it to see Made for Manchester: Craft Objects of Exchange at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre as part of the Asia Triennial festival before it ended on the 12th of November. All artists exhibiting from Ahmedabad and England had produced their work while on cultural exchange. Lokesh Ghai's work continues from the work he produced for the similarly themed A Sense of Place exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood, which I have previously blogged about, in which he tells the cautionary tale of Charlotte's untimely death from the cold. His displayed collected tin boxes reveal cautionary tales for travellers visiting Ahmedabad.

 Lokesh asked me to write one and so I wrote:


'You may get lost wondering around the labyrinths of the old town, but this is the best way to experience it.'


Another cautionary statement that I could relate closely with was: 


'Whatever you expect will be wrong. Go without expectations'

 Jane Blease, a maker in residence at The Craft and Design Centre had taken her signature technique of embroidering lampshades and on a trip to Ahmbedabad worked alongside a metal worker to produce these contemporary lamp shades.

I love the effect that the arrangement of these bangles, such a distinctly Indian adornment, combined with lights and hangers creates by designers Sahil and Sarthak.