40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality

Exhibition

40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality

16 February 2025 - 13 April 2025

Castlefield Gallery

From 16 February to 13 April 2025 parts of Castlefield Gallery may, at times, be used for meetings and events. Kay Shah’s installation Degrees of Duality has been specially developed to accommodate a variety of events including talks, workshops and community gatherings. The installation may be closed or access may be limited in order to accommodate the events listed here

As we draw Castlefield Gallery’s 40 year programme to a close, we do so looking firmly to the future. In February 2025 the gallery launched 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) selected artist Matthew Wood’s proposal for 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS. Wood created a breathtaking series of large-scale monochrome drawings, realised in his bold, distinctive and fluid style.

Learn more about 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS here

Launching with Matthew Wood’s multisite commission 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS, Castlefield Gallery Associate and Manchester Open Awardee Kay Shah transformed the lower level of Castlefield Gallery’s Manchester venue into an immersive environment. Shah’s 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality, is 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 incorporates motifs drawn from different cultural traditions. References 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 highlights the cohesion and tensions that persist in the intertwined histories of the cultures they are drawn from. Shah’s installation plays 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 feeds the imagination.

The installation is 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 invited artists, creative and community networks from around the region to take up residence. The space acts as a temporary home for housing a diverse array of pop-up activities. such as talks, readings, screenings, performance, creative workshops, and more. Degrees of Duality is a space to gather, connect or simply take some time out.

Throughout the exhibition period Castlefield Gallery’s top floor has been transformed into a pop-up shop and social space, interspersed with ephemera and items from the gallery’s 40 year archive. Visitors can settle in with a complimentary warm drink, explore archive materials and a selection of the gallery’s print portfolio, which is available to purchase, including prints by the likes of Mark Leckey, Rachel Goodyear, Gordon Cheung and more. Prints 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 are 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 acts as an experiment through which we explore the gallery’s future potential, and we are inviting artists and audiences to come and explore with us and to support.

KAY SHAH

Kay Shah is a British-Pakistani artist from Manchester who studied Fine Art at the Manchester School of Art. Drawing on their experiences living between two cultures, Shah delves into themes of distance, isolation, and cultural identity, creating immersive surreal environments that invite viewers to engage with interrelated perspectives on space and self.

In Shah’s imaginative worlds, geometric figures and architectural motifs populate surreal settings, acting as both guides and symbols within these liminal spaces. Their work frequently blurs the lines between the familiar and unknown, inspired by the interplay between Pakistani geometric patterns and Western minimalism. This visual language allows Shah to express the dynamic tensions and harmonies inherent in a life shaped by both South Asian and British heritage. By manipulating light, form, and perspective, Shah’s art offers a meditative exploration of how cultural heritage shapes our understanding of physical and psychological spaces—inviting reflection on the complexities of contemporary identity and the myriad influences that define us.

Shah is part of the Manchester-based collective DMZ. Selected Exhibitions include Betwixt and Between: A Romance of Many Dimensions, HOME (2023), Beyond Landscapes, Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester (2022); Talking Sense, The Portico Gallery, Manchester (2020).

Castlefield Gallery partner:

This exhibition is generously supported with funding from Brian Mercer Trust:

Images

Banner:

  • Kay Shah, Degrees of Duality (2025) at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Jess Robinson.

From left to right, top to bottom:

  • Kay Shah, Degrees of Duality (2025) at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Jess Robinson.
  • Kay Shah, The Return to Rajouri (2017). Image courtesy of the artist.
  • Kay Shah, Degrees of Duality (2025) at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Jess Robinson.
  • Kay Shah.

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