The final exhibition to be shown at Cornerhouse takes Jaques Tati’s 1967 film ‘Playtime’ as a starting point, and features a combination of installation, sound and video works. The iconic Cornerhouse building is soon to be abandoned as the organisation joins with the Library Theatre to become HOME, in a newly constructed gallery, theatre and cinema complex located just around the corner from the original site, on First Street. There is a lot of nostalgia directed towards Cornerhouse, with its panoramic views of Manchester’s Oxford Road and three galleries sitting one on top of the other, and this exhibition can be seen as a deliberate and humorous way of drawing attention to the idiosyncrasies of the old building, before moving into a state of the art, purpose built one.
The film ‘Playtime’ follows the giddy escapades of characters whose intentions are thwarted again and again by the architecture and technology that surrounds them, it is high-energy and full of visual gags. This energy has been tempered in its translation from a screen based presentation into an experiential one, and the exhibition has a much slower, more melancholic atmosphere in line with the winding down of the space’s use. Aspects of the architectural and technological character of Cornerhouse are drawn out and expanded upon; as with any old building which has been repurposed for the public, what is a charming quirk to some can be a frustration or barrier for others, and with this in mind the selected works invite the audience to experience the gallery in a bodily and engaged way, as a space to navigate.This intention is reinforced with the announcement of ‘Cornerhouse Projects: Full Stop’, taking place after ‘Playtime’ and up until Cornerhouse’s final closure in April, where the building will be used by the gallery’s invigilators to showcase their own artistic practices, making use of the building in ways that only somebody who works there could.
In each of the three gallery spaces the works are arranged so that the visitor is encouraged to meander around or through a set of obstacles, and often in order to activate the work you must interact with it through touch and movement. Gabriel Lester’s ‘Bouncer’ (2014) and Andy Greydon’s ‘Untitled (plate tectonics)’ (2009 ongoing) correspond with each other in their circular arrangement and both installations cleverly draw the visitor’s full attention towards the unique character and aura of the space. Although visually complimentary, these two installations transform and acknowledge the gallery experience in contrasting ways, with Lester’s oversized, swinging wooden doors creating a one-way claustrophobic tunnel, whereas Greydon’s ongoing project collects the auditory backdrop of each institution it is shown in, with the recordings able to be played simultaneously.
With its three separate gallery spaces of differing shapes and sizes, exhibitions at Cornerhouse have sometimes taken the form of three distinct arrangements, or even different exhibitions on each floor. However in this case the large interactive installations that dominate each space create a clear continuity between the galleries. Naomi Kashiwagi’s ‘Swingtime’ (2014) on the top floor Gallery 3 reiterates the pared down playfulness invoked in Gallery 1. Rosa Barba’s ‘One Way Out’ (2009/2014) also physically spans the two floors, and although it is unfortunately not working on this occasion, the breakdown of technology seems somewhat apt within the exhibition. In this largest of the galleries the works on show overlap with each other as their auditory aspects merge together. The sound emanating from Jan St. Werners ‘Molecular Hypnotics’ (2012) surround Kashiwagi’s swings, which themselves add to the clamor with recordings that are triggered by participation.
Within ‘Playtime’ a series of large participatory installations turn the gallery into a seemingly jovial site of play, whilst the video works within galleries 2 and 3 refer to the frustrations and confusions of modern-day city living. There is still wry humour here but it is infused with bleakness, pointing to the ways in which meticulous design and planning can backfire, leaving people disconnected from and confused by their environments. In Niklas Goldbach’s ‘Habitat CB3’ (2008) what appear to be clones are seen manoeuvring around a striking environment of monochrome tiling and sharp concrete corners, where the architecture has more character than the people, and Shannon Plumb’s ‘Madison and E, 24th Street’ (2008) depicts a clichéd businessman character’s failing attempts to juggle props and demands.
This exhibition creates an opportunity to spend time simply enjoying the gallery space, and is of course designed as a goodbye to the building, but the inclusion of works which rupture this carefree attitude encourages a critical consideration of nostalgia, signalling also towards the new HOME construction, and whether it will live up to the directors’ hopes and the public’s expectations. Also as part of ‘Playtime’ and as a grand finale to the Cornerhouse’s occupation of the building, a mass performance, ‘The Storming’, by Humberto Véles will take place on April 4th, including a symbolic redraft of the organisation’s creative constitution at the closing party.
