Rut Blees Luxembourg – Caliban Towers

Seeing as this is being exhibited a fifteen minute walk from my flat in Manchester I felt obliged to see it. This is also the first work to be shown at the Pavement Gallery which is located in a former shop window.

There is only one photograph, Caliban Towers, which is a typically striking late-night long exposure of a tower block, the warm orange cast of the street lights make a ordinary block of flats begin to glow and develop a character of their own. Blees Luxembourg shows the humanity within empty urban spaces, areas that are rarely thought of as beautiful or warm yet hold so much human life.

The photograph has previously been exhibited in Shoreditch in an outdoor location so it has bird shit and graffiti on it. The graffiti almost adds to it, the bird shit certainly does not. That was disappointing. Also, it is a fairly heavy structure so is supported from behind which makes the photograph lean backwards which spoils the view of it, the viewer doesn’t feel immersed in the image as the intimacy is broken. This isn’t helped by the fact the window space has a frame in the middle of it.

© Caliban Towers, Rut Blees Luxembourg

I didn’t enjoy this exhibition as much as I had hoped to, mainly due to the fact there’s only one photograph – it would clearly work better in series. It could be said that this exhibition is to show are to people who wouldn’t usually enter an art gallery. That’s an admirable idea – most public art is typically quite poor so to have an established artist on show is a genuine statement of intent. Where that idea falls down, to me at least, is the fact it’s right in the middle of Manchester Metropolitan University – full of the exact people who do use art galleries. I’m generalising of course but the MMU is home to many art and design courses.

It’s always a pleasure to see the work of Rut Blees Luxembourg and this photograph was no exception. I just wish there had been more to see. Any new exhibition space in Manchester is certainly a good thing, flaw or not. I’ll certainly return regardless of the failings.