Not Quite Light was inspired by walking in Angel Meadow, just off the city centre of Manchester, where 40,000 people are buried beneath the grassed surface. It’s where Marx and Engels did their research into the impoverished lives of the working classes. From the glassy, new CIS building just across the road, I watched a steady glow fall onto the gravestones of St. Michael’s Flags in the park below.

This caused a simple question to form: “If this light could magically bring these souls back to life, what would they make of their city today?”.

I’ve lived in Manchester for most of my life, and grew up nearby. I’m acutely aware of the evolution of the city, and the surrounding areas, as industrial wealth subsided, and a re-invention had to occur.There then began an exploration of themes around transition and regeneration during the twilight of dawn and dusk, those times of suspense between night and day, between light and dark, from old to new.  

As well as working in urban areas, work has taken Not Quite Light into places such as Macclesfield Forest, Dartmoor and the Scottish Highlands.

Not Quite Light makes work with photography, film, text, audio, music and performance, leading to numerous commissions including ‘Dark Days, Luminous Nights’ in collaboration with the Manchester Collective, ‘Our Future is Ancient’ with the Barnaby Festival and a book ‘You Live With Us, We Live With You’ for 5 Plus Architects.

NQL also has also staged a festival on several occasions, and still hosts regular events. 

The artist is based at Islington Mill in Salford.

CONTACT: notquitelight at gmail dot com

@NotQuiteLight