Superior Goods and Household Gods

Artists: Adham Faramawy, Hannah Farrell, Sarah Hardacre, Margaret Harrison, Arnold Pollock, and Suzanne Posthumus

Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present Superior Goods and Household Gods an exhibition of new and existing work including sculpture, collage, performance and video, co-curated with Northwest-based artist Sarah Hardacre.

Responding to the pervasive nature of dominant ideologies and their effects on our desire, the work in the exhibition is at once seductive and unnerving. Including new collage pieces by Sarah Hardacre alongside video works by Suzanne Posthumus and Adham Faramawy that slip in and out of the fantastical and mundane, through retro pornography, hypnotic censorship and screen based technology.

Margaret Harrison’s reproduction of a painting, which disappeared during her 1971 solo exhibition in London, depicts Hugh Hefner in a bunny girl costume. The same exhibition was also closed down by the police after just one day, on the grounds of indecency. An act that exposed the hypocrisy of an establishment comfortable with Hefner but not a man in drag, desperate to dictate what is acceptable for us to see and desire and what is not.

A new commission from Arnold Pollock will feature a live performance, filmed during the exhibition’s opening night, of a ‘Posedown’ between Pollock and international female bodybuilding competitor Karolina Botkova. There will also be a new site-specific work by Hannah Farrell which will dominate the gallery’s double height space with an enticing but intimidating installation.

Superior Goods and Household Gods is part of Wonder Women, Manchester’s feminist festival. From 1-31 March, almost all of the city’s museums and galleries, as well as other public institutions, will be staging events that celebrate female creativity and ingenuity, commemorate the suffragette movement – and ask just how far feminism has come since women first began campaigning for the right to vote 100 years ago. creativetourist.com/wonderwomen. 

About the artists

Adham Faramawy (b. 1981 Dubai) completed a BA in Fine Art at The Slade School of Fine Art in 2014 and gained his MA in Fine Art at the The Royal Academy in 2013. He has shown internationally in numerous group exhibitions and he has had solo exhibitions in London, Cork and Istanbul. adhamfaramawy.blogspot.co.uk

Hannah Farrell (b.1990) is a photographic artist who lives and works in Manchester, UK. She graduated from the Blackpool School of Creative Arts at Blackpool and The Fylde College in 2014. She has been part of group exhibitions in Manchester and London. Farrell is featured in the The Catlin Guide 2015.hannahfarrell.com

Sarah Hardacre lives and works in Manchester. She graduated with a BA Hons in Visual Arts from The University of Salford. Solo exhibitions include The Vanity of Small Differences, Stolper + Friends, Oslo; and Heaven with the Gates Off, Paul Stolper, London. She has works in private and public collections including the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, The British Museum, The British Council, and The University of Salford. paulstolper.com/sarah-hardacre

Margaret Harrison (b. 1940) Lives and works between Carlisle, UK and San Francisco, USA. Harrison is one of Britain’s best known feminist artists, a pioneer of feminist art, whose peers and collaborators include Mary Kelly, Nancy Spero and Orlan.  Margaret’s early work was influenced by British Pop art of the late 1950s.  She created drawings, paintings, and installations using images culled from the popular press and featuring iconic cultural figures including Captain America with comedy breasts, and Hugh Heffner dressed as a Bunny Girl. In 2013 she won the Northern Art Prize. Harrison has been producing work and exhibition across the world since the 1970s including shows at Battersea Arts Centre, London; The New Museum, New York; Payne Shurvell Gallery, London, TATE Liverpool, TATE Britain, London, and Silberkuppe, Berlin. She has works in several public collections including TATE Britain, TATE MODERN, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Carlisle City Art Gallery, The British Government Art Collection, London, England Arts Council of Great Britain, London, and Hepworth Art Gallery, Wakefield.payneshurvell.com/margaret-harrison

Arnold Pollock lives and works in Manchester. He completed his BA (Hons) Interactive Arts at the Manchester School of Art in 2012. Exhibitions include Edition #3: The Hafsah Naib Video Systems, Cornerhouse, Manchester and 
Bodybuilding Posedown, Holden Gallery, Manchester (Degree Show).arnoldpollock.com

Suzanne Posthumus (b. 1987 Gorinchem, The Netherlands) lives and works in London UK. She completed her BFA at Gerrit Rietveld Academie Amsterdam in 2010, and gained her MFA in 2014 from the Goldsmiths University of London, London. She has shown in group exhibitions internationally. suzanneposthumus.com

Castlefield Gallery would like to thank Richer Sounds, Deansgate for their support towards Superior Goods and Household Gods

*Please be aware this exhibition contains adult content that is not suitable for children and which some visitors may find challenging. Please contact the gallery if you would like more information.