Unnatural Borders at MediaCityUK
Polly Checkland Harding
How do you bring four endangered animals to the largest media hub in Europe for public viewing? A polar bear, whale, red squirrel and bee, for instance? Not, as it turns out, by turning MediaCityUK into an ice flow, and the Manchester Ship Canal into a giant tank. No: instead, Quays Culture have commissioned multi-disciplinary creative production company Sober Industries to create four huge sculptures, bringing these animals to what was once an industrial dock in a humane way.
Which is really the point of Unnatural Borders: the sculptures, which will tower above audiences on four large plinths, are all about raising awareness about the impact of human civilisation on the animal kingdom. They are also – in typical Quays Culture style – sculptures that transform after dark: at 9pm each day during the run, when the sun has set, the giant polar bear, whale, red squirrel and bee will be illuminated with stunning visual projections. Visit Unnatural Borders for free and, as the earth turns away from the sun, watch four majestic, endangered creates come to life.
