Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition A Horse walks into a Bar including work by Corey Arnold, Richard Billingham, Andrew Bracey, Lorraine Burrell, Maddi Nicholson, Dan Staincliffe, Chiz Turnross, UHC and Mark Wallinger. Using a range of media such as video, painting, photography, sculpture and performance, the artists playfully examine the parameters of human and animal characteristics and question the evolution of the human race.

Some of the work blurs the boundaries between nostalgia and abhorrence, referencing the use of animals in the entertainment industry, whilst other work references animals in heraldic, mythological stories. Conventions in visual art practice are also deliberated, highlighting the inter-dependence of living beings in a contemporary world, these range from the allegorical use of animals in traditional regal portraiture to other works that alter our perception of sculpture by fusing animal imagery with mass produced objects.

The exhibition can be seen as reflective of our increasingly uneasy relationship with the natural world that is tainted with confusion, contradiction and confrontation and will oscillate between the playful, sinister, surreal and controversial. Co-curated by Castlefield Gallery staff and Jane Anderson.

Film and Video Programme: Among the Nightingales

Screening Dates:
Sat 17 & Sun 18 July, 12 & 2pm
Sat 31 July & Sun 1 August, 12 & 2pm
Sat 28, Sun 29 & Mon 30 August, 12 & 2pm

Venue: Rosetherne Room, Stableyard, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN.
A free coach service will be operating between Manchester and Tatton Park during event weekends, leaving Cornerhouse at 9.45am and 2pm. Further information at Tatton Park Biennial website

Free/Booking recommended. To reserve a place please call the gallery on 0161 832 8034 or email events@castlefieldgallery.co.uk with your contact details and number of places.

Artists:
Mounira Al Solh - Lebanon/Netherlands
Jordan Baseman - UK
Oliver Beer - UK
Nina Beier & Marie Lund - Denmark/Germany/UK
Samson Kambalu - UK/Malawi
Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry - UK/Sweden
Ján Mančuška - Czech Republic
Matt Stokes – UK
Pablo Wendel - Germany

Among the Nightingales brings together 9 single channel film and video works by international artists for the Tatton Park Biennial 2010. The works use human relationships and the individual’s existence in relation to wider social groups as their point of departure. The groups are driven by ethereal, social, ideological, or political incentives that sit uncomfortably with mainstream, dominant culture. The artists use a variety stylistic methods in documenting and post-producing; some of the artists document actions performed specifically for the camera, whilst others orchestrate scenarios for individuals to participate in, deliberating the use of film as a constructed narrative and subverting our preconceptions of it.
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Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present Kate Rich and her project Feral Trade Café to Manchester. Feral Trade is a grocery import-export business, trading food and drink sourced through a range of social networks. For 6 weeks, the Feral Trade Café at Castlefield Gallery will serve up an array of ‘ferally’ traded drinks and snacks along with delivery documentation collected by the artist.