Sunday, 24 January 2010

MIll24

Jeff Coombs Projects is currently involved in a series of 24 hour exhibitions at Islington Mill, Salford.

http://mill24.blogspot.com/

Friday, 22 January 2010

My Town: Sophie Coombs' Manchester. By Millie Ross

Wimbledon College of Fine Art graduate Sophie Coombs moved up to Manchester to study Fine Art Sculpture and found herself quickly immersed in a vibrant scene of active young artists, making exhibitions, events happen, with some help from their local community. Sophie, a curator and artist herself, seems to e at he helm of this movement. We asked her what makes Manchester home.


Where do you live? Manchester

Where do you work? I'm a student at MMU [Manchester Metropolitan University] studying Fine Art Sculpture and I curate shows in empty spaces throughout Manchester.

What are you working on? Currently working on Mill24 a series of 24 hour art events and an exhibition at Islington Mill in Salford. Along with making artificial natural environments for my degree. i'm working on creating a range of Tracy Islands before and after Thunderbirds.

How do you get around (bus, train bike, car?) Walking.

Your favourite gallery? Castlefield is a great space but the Whitworth has put on some pretty ace exhibitions. I wasn't sure I would be able to see a Gregor Schnider in England.

Where’s the best place to shop? Oldham Street.

Best place for a good coffee? China Town. Have a bubble tea.

Best place to see some nature? The peak district isn't far on the train, go there and that is real countryside.

Favorite piece of street/public art near you… Turning the Place Over by Richard Wilson in Liverpool, I know it's not Manchester but nothing tops that.

The view from your bedroom is… More terraced houses, like in Coronation Street.

The view from you workplace/studio is…My studio is in the basement. if I look up, merky glass.

Favorite late night haunt…Keko Moku, good cocktails.

Where do you go for music? Your Mama's Cookin for some proper dancing.

How does the city influence your art? I see everything two dimensionally, so it's just a backdrop which happens to have very tall buildings and highrise train tracks. It's great, it's bleak, it feels really victorian but also utopian. The combination of architecture is mad. Sometimes it feels really safe and sometimes really dodgy and scary. My works is always about my personal confusion in situations and the inability to understand, finding it funny and frustrating. I guess that's what Manchester is to me, familiar but also totally alien. That's what happens when you downsize from London I guess.

Strongest or most unusual memory? Going to Asda in Hulme at 3 in the morning, being so scared and running home through wasteland being followed by a stray dog.

Your favourite discovery? The basement of the Righton building at MMU.

Name a song that best sums up how you feel about your town. Harry Nilsson- Coconut. "It's too cold to go out at the moment, if I do go out I want a cocktail."

Name an artwork that you feel represents your town. Anything by Daniel Pickles.

See Sophie's jotta portfolio here

And her curating blog Jeff Coombs Projects here

published on Thursday, 21 January