It is pretty busy here at Manchester Art Gallery. On Sunday the gallery was host to several cultural events for Chinese New Year and the last day of the Grayson Perry exhibition, (which was packed with visitors when I went to look around one last time.) There were 7,000 visitors on Sunday alone – a record breaking number. Now, the gallery is getting ready for the opening of Time Machine, an exhibition of works by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. Crates are being delivered, the large wooden boxes hinting at the magnitude of some of the pieces that will soon be on display! I am pretty excited by the thought of opening the crates – it will be a surprise to see how the large sculptures come apart and are packed. We cannot store the huge crates at the gallery once they are emptied so we will store them offsite. Some of the works are so large they will need to be uncrated before they can fit in the art lift which will take them up to the second floor exhibition galleries.
War Games unboxed 4
War Games unboxed 3
War Games unboxed 2
War Games unboxed 1
The works are sometimes so intricate – several have motorized engines and moving parts, and others will need to be assembled when they come out of the crates. There are a number of the artist’s assistants who are technical specialists and they are coming from Portugal, along with the artist, to set up the exhibition. Check the site daily for behind the scene shots of the installation in the coming days.
Alexandra Christoff, Curatorial Assistant.