I’ve waffled before about my love for Manchester – from worker bee to flamboyant creative, to tech wizard to revolutionary scientist – we’ve had and have them all and nothing makes me prouder of this city.
I’m not alone, of course, but it’s the ways that others show their love that sometimes thrills me – take Northern Letters. Taking the letters of some of the Northern Quarter’s most iconic pubs, clubs, restaurants, bars and shops of the past and present, Matt has turned them into works of art in their own right.
From individual canvasses to prints, it’s a reminder of the work that goes into creating the identity of each business. Then, as these identities grow into distinct personalities, each holds a little space in our hearts – from the recently lamented Socio-Rehab, to the long lasting Common, to the resurrected Walrus, each has it’s own imprint.
Matt’s work with fonts and prints shows us how such a small thing – a single letter – can provoke a strong response.
The canvasses are dramatic – whether the smaller letters to the larger, singular letters, or combined into words, they’re fun and funky.
My personal favourite, having been a slave to opticians since secondary school, is the optician style eye-chart. I can promise I’d have much more enjoyed reading this one, than my usual sequence of letters.
If you’d much rather the entire alphabet, there’s an option for that too – see if you can spot where each one comes from ‘d’ and ‘n’ are quite easy. Oh and wait, just got ‘v’….
Shall I help you cheat a bit?
How about a full map? See that’s a bit easier isn’t it?
Smaller options are available too – playing cards, beer mats or even a mug. Each one reminds me of a feeling, or a time and a place. It’s easy to pick a letter and get a warm fuzzy feeling – or something a bit more like embarrassment as you remember the time when…. Yes, let’s not go there. That wasn’t my finest hour.
And still Matt isn’t finished. The Northern Quarter is ever changing, growing and expanding. I’d love to see letters from Takk and Kosmonaut. And then other ideas spring into my head – what about the rest of the city centre? Chorlton’s iconic bars and restaurants? Fallowfield?
Northern Letters, Manchester is your oyster and I can’t wait to see what else you’ve got up your sleeve….
