Ghislaine Howard. Capturing the moments.
I know that everyone reading this will have walked past 151 Deansgate – Elliot House – now the home of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Many will have been inside for business meetings, most will not have. That, in itself, is a pity because it is a beautiful, listed Victorian building. Clive Memmott, CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber, said, “I don’t want it to be a closed door on Deansgate.” But, like so many of Manchester’s iconic buildings, that is what it appears to be. It is an imposing entrance and can therefore, quite frankly, appear to be a little ‘scary.’
But Clive’s wish has found a pragmatic and typically unique Manc way of opening the door to everybody. The working spaces throughout the building have been utilised to show a spectacular exhibition of works by artist Ghislaine Howard. And please do walk through that door, which is in reality friendly rather than scary. In short visitors are welcome to
walk in and see over a hundred works by this acclaimed artist.
I was privileged to spend a couple of hours walking around all four floors with Ghislaine herself and accompanied by her husband Michael, art historian and writer. I am passionate about the arts, but this was a unique experience for me; to effectively have a one to one (two including Michael) with an artist for a long period. To ask questions, receive answers and just generally chat with a very unpretentious artist who loves to chat herself.
The word unpretentious is important, because Ghislaine has every right to be pretentious were it in her character. It is not. The few words available here could be eaten up by just listing her achievements during a long career. She has paintings and drawings in many collections, including the Royal collection. Has worked with Amnesty International and many other organisations, exhibiting exhaustively during the past forty years and is ‘hyperactive’ in the most positive sense, with plans both achieved and in the making.
But what underpins the hauntingly beautiful and often spectacular paintings and drawings is the ability to capture an emotional moment in time. It is as if that moment desperately needed to be captured, otherwise it would have been fleeting and lost.
A few days after the Arena attack in 2017, a young Asian man stood blindfolded in St. Ann’s Square, arms outstretched with a hand-made sign at his feet that said, ‘I am Muslim and I trust you. Do you trust me enough for a hug?’ Ghislaine said that this was ‘unbearably moving’ and to see a ‘public affirmation of our common humanity’ moved her to paint as many of the embraces as she could, each rendered on a small canvas – and on show at Elliot House. Small paintings alongside large paintings that each have that capturing of the moment, which otherwise would have been fleeting.
Over the years many of Ghislaine’s paintings and installations have had a religious context. Given that I had the opportunity to speak one to one with her I asked the question directly: did her work have a spiritual context? She answered clearly and honestly that, although brought up a Catholic, she no longer had a practicing faith. "But," she continued, "the point is that all faiths have the same spiritual context." My own favourite piece in its drama and disturbing composition is one of a man leaning forward to allow a sip of water from a glass by a girl standing submissively with her arms by her side. It is a secular version of the Christian bible verse ‘I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.’ That verse and others relating to humanity include feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, housing the homeless, clothing the unclothed, looking after the sick and caring for prisoners. Ghislaine said that the pieces based on these verses were a secular representation of how humanity should be based.
The exhibition – in all its hundred or more paintings and drawings – captures moments of that humanity that are often fleeting but always startlingly relevant.
To miss the opportunity of seeing Ghislaine’s work in such an unusual but perfectly appropriate setting would be a shame. And so I really encourage everyone to go through that door at 151 Deansgate and spend some time looking and reflecting. Just go along during working hours and the staff of Manchester Chamber of Commerce will welcome you.
The exhibition is planned to be semi-permanent, with other works added during the coming months.
Ghislaine and Michael will be at Elliot House between 12 and 5pm on January 27th to discuss the works and answer any questions you may have. There is a disabled access on Jacksons Row.