Caleb White

t is a freezing Sunday, and The Lowry is warm. Warmer than outside, at least. I am here to visit the temporary ceramics exhibition: Local/National/International. It is 10:30am and barely anyone, besides a couple staff members, are here. It is also a designated quiet viewing time. I was unaware of this beforehand but wasn’t planning on making tonnes of noise anyway. Image via The Lowry The title of the exhibition simple refers to the fact that the three exhibiting artists are local (the North of England), national (London) and international (Hong Kong). Respectively, Aliyah Hussain, Paloma Proudfoot, and Renee So. The stated purpose is “revealing similarities and overlaps in their practices”. Whether this is achieved is up for debate. Each artist is exhibited in demarcated gallery space, with no physical overlap. Each space has its own character. While comparisons can be drawn, the overarching geographical conceptualisation seems like an afterthought. As if – and this is purely speculat...

I enter from the right, coming straight from the staircase, neglecting Lowery and Valette, and continue straight on towards a Harvey Ball style smiley face, stuck on the outside of a cabinet, covering the place at which a mannequin’s head would have been. The mannequin inside wears a yellow dress. Image via fashionexhibitionmaking.ac.uk While the gallery is titled “fashion”, every subdivision concerns ‘Couture’. A seed collection, works of big-name designers, has been transformed into quite a brilliant exhibition. Brilliant, first, in its transparency. The reverse wall, left and behind as I enter, showcases ephemera left over by the exhibition team. A steady progression from mind-maps, through mood-boards, to floor-plans and sketch ups. Both the drive and the focus of the exhibition team is apparent in their workings. Already, colour is used to great effect. Text is highlighted in yellow, signifying the theme of ‘storytelling’. A set of A4 sheets of paper tiled on the wall bear the...