South Manchester

A photographic project examining community in south Manchester, by Richard Aldred.

[southmcr]

I finished making photos for my A Better Light project some time ago, and shall soon publish it as an artist's book.

I'm now working on a geographically wider project, Lesser Monuments, of which the comparative Birley Fields photos are part.

[southmcr]

Birley Fields, Hulme (2013.05.19)

[southmcr]

Birley Fields, Hulme (2012.08.04)

[southmcr]

Manchester Hardcourt Bike Polo (2012.08.22)

Manchester Hardcourt Bike Polo players practising at Powerhouse, Moss Side in advance of the London Open and Hell's Belles tournaments.

[southmcr]

Reggae street party, Hulme (2012.06.01)

[southmcr]

Martin's, Fallowfield (2012.09.07)

As well as providing haircuts and shaves, many barbers are also a social venue for the area's non-drinking community, some open late into the evening. The wider clientelle is determied by specific location; Martin's has a broad mix of local residents and students.

[southmcr]

Pinzgauer 710, Rusholme (2012.09.04)

[southmcr]

Princess Road Bus Depot site, Moss Side (2012.07.11)

This open land is the former site of the Stagecoach depot, which I photographed the week after its closure in March 2011.  The depot was more recently demolished and the land cleared.  Details of its the future use have yet to be published, but I understand from the working group that it will be temporarily seeded as a flower meadow before being used for housing and a small community orchard.

The light on this day was different from any other of the summer, resulting in a very saturated blue sky - a good counterpart to the rich colour of the sand, but quite an unusual appearance, accentuated by the single height of flat clouds.  As such, the photograph is visually different from others in the series, but this matches the similar contrast of land usage.

[southmcr]

Old Trafford and Hulme (2012.06.18)

Looking towards Salford

[southmcr]

Mega Mela, Platt Fields Park (2012.08.26)

People walk between the various attractions at the Mela in Platt Fields Park.  A little too small on screen, in the print one can see the individual stalls, and Sukshinder Shinda performing on stage.

The event was originally scheduled to be held in mid-July but was postponed due to the condition of the park.

[southmcr]

Netball, Whalley Range (2012.08.21)

Mismets vs. Manchester Techno Girls Squad in the Simple Netball league.

[southmcr]

Eid, Rusholme (2012.08.19)

Eid celebrations in Rusholme, marking the end of Ramadan. I spoke to people who had travelled from as far as Bradford, some mentioning the attraction of the parade of performance cars - something apparently unique to Manchester.

[southmcr]

Moss Side Fire Station open day (2012.08.18)

[southmcr]

Kerbside furniture, Rusholme (2012.08.04)

For much of the year, there is a large student population, who regard elsewhere as home and are not involved in the community; until now, they have been absent from my work, made during the summer months outside term time.  Their impact is seen at this time through the prevalence of empty houses in certain areas, and through activity to repair and refurbish these before the next year's intake.

[southmcr]

Alexandra Park, Moss Side (2012.08.14)

A man waits for barriers used at the Caribbean Carnival to be collected by the hire company.

[southmcr]

Kenworthy Orchard, Chorlton Water Park (2012.08.12)

A pruning workshop run by Abundance Manchester at Kenworthy Orchard, a community orchard on the edge of Chorlton Water Park.

[southmcr]

Caribbean Carnival, Alexandra Park, Moss Side (2012.08.11)

The annual Caribbean Carnival, this year also celebrating fifty years of Trinidadian and Jamaican independence.