From The Plaza to the Pyramid, Stockport is full of architectural gems. And a sharper focus on the town in recent years in light of its ongoing transformation has put a spotlight on the artists, musicians and creatives celebrating its evolution.
And while performers like Antony Szmierek have brought attention to the big blue triangle that is the Stockport Pyramid, and artist Helen Clapcott has painted the former industrial town for decades, another local artist is drawing attention to one of its other local landmarks.
The Merseyway car park with its towering, pierced structure is perhaps one of the town’s more divisive pieces of architecture, but standing in the heart of the town centre, the work has remained a constant throughout periods of social change and adversity. Designed by public artist Alan Boyson, the structure is now providing inspiration to local artist Alison Waters.
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Today it marks Waters’ inspiration for ‘View Through a Hole’ – half love letter to her hometown of Stockport and half celebration of the works of Boyson. Recently unveiled by the Modernist Society at their Northern Quarter base, the new exhibition celebrates Stockport’s Merseyway centre – and the town more widely – through a collection of hand-built ceramics.
Merseyway Shopping Centre in Stockport town centre
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Giving visitors a glimpse into the past of the region, through the mismatch of architectural styles that dominate our skylines and history of industrialisation that remains engrained within the county – Waters’ work captures what Boyson’s screen has stood witness to all these years.
As part of the exhibition, Alison has partnered with nephew and photographer Dylan Barker to celebrate Boyson’s car park screen, its modernist shapes and the views beyond. Dylan is currently studying photography and 3D design, the two subjects aligning in this exhibition.
“I was exploring Stockport’s shopping centre and car park area with my nephew while he was taking photos for a school project on modernist architecture,” recalled Alison Waters.
Alison Waters exhibition ‘View Through a Hole’ in collaboration with the Modernist Society
(Image: Supplied)
“I became fascinated by the slice of urban landscape visible through the holes in the car park screen; it was like looking onto a miniature landscape – a snapshot of the town’s architectural heritage, with Victorian, brutalist, and contemporary buildings all contained within a modernist shape.”
The exhibition is currently being hosted in Manchester until March at The Modernist Society, which was founded in 2009 by Jack Hale, Eddy Rhead and Maureen Ward. It is a creative project dedicated to celebrating and engaging with twentieth century architecture, through publishing, events, exhibitions and creative collaborations.
Co-founder of the Modernist Society, Jack Hale, added: “We’re incredibly pleased to help unveil Alison’s work. Her hand-built ceramics allow us to peer into the looking glass of our local history in Greater Manchester.
The cooperative building in Merseyway taken from the Coopography exhibition at the Rochdale Pioneers Museum
(Image: Stockport Express)
“This collection, through its diverse capture of shapes and materials truly expresses what Boyson’s screen has stood witness to in Stockport for many years.”
Boyson, who sadly passed in 2018, left behind a legacy of public works throughout England. Chiefly as a famed muralist and sculptor, many of his works including Hull’s ‘Three Ships’ mosaic and ‘The Tree of Knowledge’ mural in Salford have received statutory protections to stand the test of time.
Beyond a tribute to Boyson’s work, the exhibition is a whole-hearted love letter to Waters’ hometown of Stockport where modernist and industrial architectural styles have stood side by side since World War Two.
The Modernist Society recently unveiled their newest exhibition, a ‘View Through a Hole’, bringing a piece of Stockport history to the heart of the Manchester.
(Image: Supplied)
Along with every town in England post-war, the area was tasked with drawing up a huge plan for reconstruction. Albeit, these dreams were never fully realised, it gave the town the visually captivating architectural mismatch it has today, and which is celebrated today by artists like Alison.
‘View Through a Hole’ is open to public view at The Modernist (58 Port Street, M1 2EQ) from the 10th January 2025 until 1st March 2025. For more information see The Modernist Society website here.