Memoria et Locus at Saan1

Saan1 presents a one-night only exhibition Memoria et Locus. The group pop-up show features artists Ashleigh Worden, Mia Phillips, Reece Veitch and Emily Irwin and is curated by Hope Gallegos, Aur Bleddyn and Gareth Ogden.

All of the artists and curators in Memoria et Locus are students at the Manchester School of Art and have come together to explore the idea of ‘place’, whether literal, symbolic or metaphorical. The title itself can be translated as ‘memory and place’, alluding to the artists’ personal approach to their chosen places. 

The exhibition text describes places as having a fluid nature and the potential to become be personal archives, subconscious landscapes, or sites of contested history. Their existence may only be in memory or imagination, and the works on display conjure up images that often have a fragmentary or hazy quality that reflects this. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of the artists’ work.

Reece Veitch is an artist that deals in realism, with photo-like paintings of overlooked urban spaces. Walls covered in graffiti and the bright colours of recycling bins at the end of a row of grey terraced houses feature in his compositions. The artist himself states that the locations he captures change all the time, and some of them are no longer there, making his body of work something of an ongoing archive.

Ashleigh Worden’s atmospheric paintings depict the world at night, with bright rectangles of lit up windows being the key element in her compositions. They are both calm and desolate, depicting the muted tones of night-time with an air of loneliness. It feels as if the perspective of the viewer is that of somebody longing to be inside, warmed by the pale yellow light that cuts through the darkness. Worden’s work is fittingly used as the poster for the show too, illustrating the concept of place and the often fuzzy memories of it.

All this and more should be seen in the flesh – entry to Memoria et Locus is free and there will be drinks too so don’t miss this one-night only event organised and led by local talent.