TO THE LEFT OF THE RISING SUN
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester 30 June - 12 August 2007

Throughout art history we see numerous depictions of the North, imagery that ranges from romantic and sublime to the more scientific. In current postcolonial times, when geographical maps are re-defined and travel accounts re-written, what kind of imagery does the North evoke? Taking into consideration the continued need to represent internal sentiments and to challenge universal powers, myth still plays an important role within contemporary art discourse. At a time when geographical location has little bearing on the art produced in that location, when communities effortlessly take shape virtually, how is location-specificity expressed?
       To the left of the rising sun poses questions about current representations of a terrain that has historically evoked ideas about myth and nostalgia, nationalism, romanticism and an ongoing transformation of cultural identity. But that still, is sparsely inhabited and very few people have ever visited.

Bryan Davies and Dan Robinson (UK)
Ben Frost (AU/IS)
Knut Henrik Henriksen (NO/DE)
James Ireland (UK)
Peter Johansson/Barbro Westling (SE)
Dariusz Kowalski (PL/AT)
William Morris (UK)

www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk

A Manchester First co-production in association with the Manchester International Festival: www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com