Caleb White

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ It is a short walk from the tram stop to Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre. The sky is clear, but the cold of the winter lingers in the mornings. I am visiting for a dual purpose. Firstly, for this review series. Secondly, to scope the place out for an interview the following week. While ultimately I didn’t get the job, it was a fun experience to run reconnaissance on the place – going more in depth on specific art works to prepare for a mock tour I was to be delivering. I had researched the institution before hand – its origin in the collections of paper merchant Wrigley, and its purpose-built building, with certain architectural quirks. Decals symbolising Manchester’s trades sit above in the rafters, glass tiles allow light into the lower floors, where the museum sits. Upstairs, Tina’s tea room. A healthy amount of patrons are sipping cups of tea and nibbling on slices of cake. The café is odd. It wraps around a central opening which looks back down to the ground f...

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Mere minutes away from where I currently live sits the Whitworth. After spending plenty of time there already, I was excited to visit their new exhibition, so set the morning that it opened to take it all in. I was not alone in this want, as, by 10:30, it was already pleasantly busy. A very skilfully curated and executed exhibition, 'Turner: In Light and Shade' is on display between Feb 7 - Nov 2 and is free to enter.  Image via Author Conclusions first, this time: The exhibition constantly plays the line between showcasing an impressive and engrossing body of work - through a comprehensive display of all 71 published mezzotint prints - and building a shrine to brilliance, which at times comes across as sycophantic. Perhaps sycophantic is too strong, yet, when approached critically, Turner is reified in his skill both as an artist and as a taskmaster. Nevertheless, the insight provided by both the breadth of the art displayed, and the manner in which it has been...