Michelle Allen’s exhibition explores unwritten socio-political histories and stories
For The Elevation of Man by Michele Allen
May sees the second in a pair of exhibitions from North East artist Michele Allen at Sunderland’s NGCA, exploring the unwritten socio-political histories and stories within the North East, with this latest show using it as a lifting point to open up a discussion about both the State’s and our own collective role in what we label as ‘society’.
The title is taken from the inscription on a Victorian drinking fountain, donated by public subscription to celebrate a group of philanthropists who secured an area of parkland in Elswick for the public. The inscription on the fountain reads: “They saved this park for public use, for health, beauty and happiness, to elevate man and honour God.” The optimism expressed within seems almost anachronistic to us in a time where politicians hide money in offshore bank accounts whilst carving up public health organisations; such a statement feels more akin to the empty promises of an autocratic regime than it does a collective revolution. Rather than being cynical about it all however, Allen instead chooses to remain more thoughtful and contemplative. Primarily through her photography, Allen presents a wide array of spaces and artefacts accrued by the State, observing which are to be reordered or redistributed, trying to find a value that can be measured outside of cost alone. Are parks, museums and galleries all ‘gifts’ to society, or a necessity? Is their value something to be measured by the government, or should it be left in the hands of the people?
