Not Quite Light captures, in the half light of dawn, the transition of Manchester City centre, and the area immediately surrounding it. VISIT THE ‘NOT QUITE LIGHT’ PROJECT
On the northern edge of the city centre we can see Victorian glories collide with the unsentimental drive to modernise and reacquaint the city with economic triumph. Salford and Manchester jostle up against each other as they both seek to establish who can best capture the ambition of the Northern Powerhouse.
Often, though, the destruction and construction seem ill-thought out. Car parks lie, like dried up lakes where once stood grand brick buildings of industry, and the idea of the new age soothing the injured past seems an impossible thought, despite the glistening lights of recent architecture.
It appears that the council’s policy is to establish the city centre as the focal point for growth, hoping that the new prosperity seeps northwards like ink on blotting paper. However, as the city undergoes its transition, it often feels to me as if Swan Street and Great Ancoats Street act as a tarmac moat, and that very little wealth has managed to make it across to the north side.
This project examines the transition of Manchester’s economic, industrial and spiritual heritage as it builds for the future.
