On Wednesday 5th October, the 10th floor of Bruntwood’s Neo, still under development, was transformed into a pop-up gallery host to the private view of Skyline Manchester, by acclaimed photographer and artist Andrew Brooks.
The exhibition of large scale artworks is in partnership with Design Manchester, and includes imagery commissioned for its DM16 city-wide festival of design, launching on 12th October.
Creatives, designers, photographers and property movers and shakers all turned out for the launch of Skyline Manchester, which brings together newly commissioned photography and existing works that focus on the skyline and architecture of the city.
With views from some of its most iconic buildings, including a view of Neo during its development, this is a unique collection that shows modern Manchester at its most dynamic.
Brooks captures these views in vivid detail. Each image is built digitally from up to two hundred separate photographs. Through this process, the complexity of the city is shown in all its detail and the light and colour is refined to give them an almost painterly atmosphere.
Andrew Brooks comments: ‘I feel incredibly lucky to get to visit these rooftops with such amazing views of Manchester. I aim to show how it felt to be up high, watching the city; from a single person rushing below, to huge new buildings rising amongst tower cranes.’
The private view was a one-off pop-up event, and during Design Manchester’s DM16 festival, the exhibition will move to The Refuge, on the corner of Whitworth and Oxford Street, where it can be seen from 13th-19th October in the newly opened public bar and dining room set in 10,000 square foot of breath-taking space at the iconic Palace Hotel.
The Refuge is located in one of Manchester’s most iconic buildings – the former offices of the Refuge Assurance on Oxford Street, which was constructed in stages between 1891 and 1932. The building has been subject to a painstaking renovation, restoring a feast of original details in glorious terracotta, faience, marble and glazed brick.
Skyline Manchester, an exhibition by Andrew Brooks
Exhibition: The Refuge at the Palace Hotel – 13th-19th Oct, usual opening hours
