40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality

As Castlefield Gallery draws its 40 year programme to a close, they do so looking firmly to the future. In February 2025 the gallery will launch two new artist commissions developed with Castlefield Gallery Associates, for our gallery in Manchester and high street spaces at New Art Spaces: Chester and New Art Spaces: Warrington.

Together with Castlefield Gallery, guest curator Kate Bryan (Broadcaster and Curator) has selected artist Matthew Wood’s proposal for 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS. Wood will create a breathtaking series of large-scale monochrome drawings, realised in his bold, distinctive and fluid style.

Launching with Matthew Wood’s multisite commission 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS, Castlefield Gallery Associate and Manchester Open Awardee Kay Shah will transform the lower level of Castlefield Gallery’s Manchester venue into an immersive environment. Shah’s 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality, will be a large-scale installation simultaneously operating as a multifunctional space.

Shah’s work delves into the artist’s relationship with culture and identity; the spaces they create are a way to explore bi-cultural identity from an intercultural perspective.

Degrees of Duality will incorporate motifs drawn from different cultural traditions. References will include the fleur-de-lis, predominantly used in Europe, appearing alongside geometric and tessellated patterns that are more often found in Pakistani architectural design. For the artist, bringing such motifs together will highlight the cohesion and tensions that persist in the intertwined histories of the cultures they are drawn from. Shah’s installation will play with space – open and closed, physical and digital, toying with our perceptions and encouraging visitors to physically and mentally wander. Shah’s hope is that Degrees of Duality will feed the imagination. The artist and gallery plan for the installation to act as an invitation to others to activate and define the space for themselves.
The installation will be designed to incorporate other artists’ works and to allow other groups of creatives, as well as community activities, to hold space. To this end the gallery will be inviting artists, creative and community networks from around the region to take up residence. The space is planned to act as a temporary home for housing a diverse array of pop-up activities. Expected are talks, readings, screenings, performance, creative workshops, and more. The hope is that Degrees of Duality will be activated as a space to gather, connect or simply take some time out.

Throughout the exhibition period Castlefield Gallery’s top floor will be transformed into a pop-up shop and social space, interspersed with ephemera and items from the gallery’s 40 year archive. Visitors will be able to settle in with a complimentary warm drink, explore archive materials and a selection of the gallery’s print portfolio, which will be available to purchase, including prints by the likes of Mark Leckey, Rachel Goodyear, Gordon Cheung and more. Prints will feature alongside books, artist multiples and limited editions. 

As part of this pop-up for the first time Castlefield Gallery’s 40 Years of the Future: Editions will be available for both public viewing and in person purchasing. This is a very special edition series, developed in collaboration with the gallery’s Artist Patron, Ryan Gander OBE RA. The editions, of which there only nine in each of the series, has been created with Gander himself, and a phenomenal group of celebrated artists: Joy Division & Peter Saville CBE; Bob & Roberta Smith OBE RA; Lindsey Mendick; Shezad Dawood; Hannah Perry; Simeon Barclay. 

Each artist has donated a design that has been beautifully engraved onto cocktail shakers, marking a moment – Castlefield Gallery at 40 years. Amongst the series is a version of the iconic album cover artwork designed by Peter Saville for Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures released by Factory Records in 1979. One of the Artist Proofs from the Joy Division & Peter Saville edition has been deposited with the Joy Division archive.This incredible collection of works and the gallery shop pop-up, is intended as a fundraiser designed to raise funds to support the next 40 years of Castlefield Gallery. The overall exhibition period will be an experiment through which we will explore the gallery’s future potential, and we are inviting artists and audiences to come and explore with us and to support