40 Steps Backwards and A Pirouette. : Leaning in Liverpool - Day Two

Oh how beautiful the sound of Seagulls during the day... Not so pretty throughout the night, I can tell you.

Upon waking for the twentieth and final time, I realised I had left the hotel window open. Every car, every bird song, every rubbish collection as audible as a baby's cry.

Today, I wandered a lot. I went to the Tate and saw the critically acclaimed Mondrian exhibition. The recreation of one of his studios was a definite highlight. His work which primarily consists of squares (occasionally coloured) and stark black lines will either excite you or leave you cold. I don't mind him but my Tate experience was enhanced thanks to the crazy thematic exhibition downstairs, where links are made between disparate artists conceptually. Lots of school parties were sitting on the floor, in front of paintings and other compositions. A teacher inadvertently setting off an alarm when he got too close to a bike exhibit. What did delight me was the work he gave his students, 'go and find two works of art that you like for whatever reason'. The fact that he allowed emotional response as a reason for being attracted to a work, saw him leap up in my estimation of him as a teacher. Art ultimately is only as important as the people who perceive it. Emotional value is so much more inspiring that the prices the works may generate in an auction. I want to see a child pulling out a canvas or piece of paper and giving it a go as a result of their exposure to something that has moved them.

More wandering followed... I did manage to find the Williamson Tunnels. Joseph Williamson was a wealthy tobacco merchant who created a series of erratic tunnels under a section of Liverpool, the excavated stone used to provide raw materials for his properties. It appears he employed a number of poor people for years on end. No-one knows how many or how much he paid them. Many mysteries surround the tunnels. For one thing, they are still coming to light. The only thing that people know for certain is that Williamson kept digging tunnels way into his old age (well, not personally, but you get the idea). I was given a tour by a lovely chap who looked better in the helmet than I did and pointed out the artificial moles to me, apparently included to prevent children from getting too scared. If a child starts to exhibit signs of fear at being stuck in a tunnel, point at the moles and all is right with the world.

I then went to the Victoria Gallery and Museum, where I stumbled on a bizarre public relations and filming session for a new exhibition focusing on nuclear power and atoms etc. I am sure that all will be revealed in the future. I also felt very sorry for all of the specimens in jars. Creatures once alive and vibrant, frozen in embalming fluids, soiled remains of the very human need to know everything.

This evening, I spent my last night in Liverpool at the Unity Theatre, watching a play called 'Wolf Red'. A very powerful piece acted by one woman that explores fairy tales, female gender roles and sexuality and quite possibly, severe mental illness. The most disturbing image was the woman masturbating herself with a feather duster, having obsessively tried to clean every inch of the set. The audience member behind me left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. Although, laughter is often the best remedy when something escapes our ability to rationalise it.

I am now in the hotel room, reflecting on Albert Dock this morning, the peace and quiet, the endless warning signs and the variety of homeless people I have encountered in the last couple of days. Liverpool is suffering like other areas of the United Kingdom. It deserves to pull through, the local council certainly seems to be addressing the empty building phenomenon, considerably more effectively than the councils in London. There are a myriad of construction projects going on at the moment. Hopefully, this bodes well for the future.

Barry Watt - 24th June 2014.

Afterword

I am amazed that I didn't discuss my experiences in Liverpool Cathedral and my growing connection to religious iconography even though my religious beliefs can best be summed up as agnostic. Also the current phenomenon of attaching padlocks to fences etc denoting love affairs, relationships and bereavements. I always find these striking. Oh yes, I really did slip in dog crap! (27th June 2014).

The 'Mondrian and his Studios' exhibition is on at the Tate Liverpool until 5th October 2014.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/mondrian-and-his-studios

'Wolf Red' was on at the Unity Theatre. Please see below a link to the website, so that you can see a promo video for the play, in case it tours.

http://www.tmesistheatre.com/productions/new_piece.php

The Williamson Tunnels can be partially explored courtesy of the Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre supported by the Joseph Williamson Society.

http://www.williamsontunnels.co.uk/view.php?page=about

The Victoria Gallery and Museum felt curiously outdated but still worth a visit.

http://vgm.liverpool.ac.uk/

The Unity Theatre is one of those little gems that is hidden down the back streets, that only local residents know about.

http://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/

Photos