There has been a turn in the weather. A crisp brightness following an extended deluge – the onset of Autumn. Coinciding with this shift is the opening of ‘BLOOM’, The Manchester School of Art MA show. Displayed between September 22^nd-28^th, MSOA took the peculiar route of having the after hours ‘opening’ occur on the Thursday, midway through the exhibition. Whilst BLOOM is a more ambitious grad show – encompassing every department within the MSOA – through this review I will encounter and consider works from the MA/MFA Fine Art and Painting students – contained within the boundary of the Holden Gallery.

It’s been a long day at work, and I have come to the show with my partner, having been invited by members of the 1838 Collective – who are in charge of after show drinks. The collective, aiming to bridge the gap between the Art School and the Art World, is wonderful. They organise a schedule of events and exhibitions and are comprised of current MA and MFA students. They make up around a third of the artwork on display here, some of which I have encountered before.

We enter through the neo-classical façade and are welcomed into a packed show. The grandeur of the interior provides a clean, lofty environment. Under high ceilings many people – many artists and their connections – are mingling. Maintaining the standard white walls, with occasional unveilings of the brickwork behind it, the Holden Gallery is a versatile, unchallenging canvas for such an exhibition. In the centre, a partition wall allows for a greater area for the display of paintings. The partition wall enables us, the visitor, to see introductory work while simultaneously being aware of the scale of the building and of the show itself. It acts as a caution to reserve energy.

The first work I gravitate towards is Rebecca Garrard’s Betweenness. A wonderful person, from whom I have recently bought a print, she plays in liquid forms over bark paper. An interplay of both solidity and ethereality, evocative of the deep sea, of strange ghostlike motion.

Less to my taste is a work from Blake Barbosa. A heavily symbolic and exceedingly convoluted and dense alter piece, displayed in such a fashion as to allow for 360 viewing. It is impressive yet busy. The religious iconography, no doubt subverted, could be studied for days. However, holistically it is overwhelming.

Around the corner, we find works from Masi Naidj – as well as the artist herself, conversing with some onlookers. The borderline obsessive focus on the Stone as a recurring image – an anchor point – within her body of work is fascinating. A larger work, one I haven’t seen before, is a lucid example of all of the ideas packed into such a simple motif. Questions of belonging, of being, of imbalance, history, and memory all sit within her meditative, tranquil practice. Her works come with both technical prowess and a deep theoretical integrity.

Next to one of these works is ‘Maiden’s Castle’ by Rosie Woodruff. The newly engaged commercial side of my art brain immediately picks up on its value, were it not for the potentially challenging installation. A tessellation of canvasses creates an aesthetically pleasing image – albeit one that feels more immediately understandable, rather than allowing for deeper exploration. Perhaps this speaks more to my suspicion of my commercial instinct – an unchecked assumption that if something looks appealing, it lacks depth. Regardless of any of the above, it is a beautiful work.

Tucked away in a shaded corridor we find an unbelievable array of works by Victoria King. An incredibly prestigious and careered person, King returns for her second MA in Fine Art. Her output is decidedly brilliant. Flowing shapes, constructed from Plaster-covered discarded fabric draped over recycled materials, create forms of pillars and plinths, statues half-forgotten and decayed. A second series of works brings together disparate and complex fabrics into amalgams, suspended against the wall. This entire section is competitively – almost combatively excellent. An excerpt of text, elucidating the drive behind the works, speaks of anti-modernism, orchestration, a treatise to decay. I would, without a second thought, attend an exhibition focusing on her work, and her work alone.

On the topic of solo-exhibitions, an adjacent dark room is set aside for the works of Deeqa Ismail. Here, I am most at home. A textured soundscape. Shadows cast by strange arrays of PVC piping on a projected film displaying a costumed, seemingly improvised performance. The footage is flipped, displayed over itself, haunting itself in its mirrored nature. The costume itself sits in a corner, inanimate but vocal – itself producing sound. Vocalisations, perhaps a language I am unfamiliar with. Prints, framed on the walls, accompany the assemblage. It is a room out of time. Were there less people around, I would have spent innumerate time here myself.

Between these two stand outs comes a third – a piece, entitled ‘Being’, brought alive through the process of installation. Chloe Behar’s artwork, made of beeswax and calico, is strung precariously between the pillars of the Holden Gallery. The fragility, volume, and complexity of the installation are astounding. It is a moment in time, a rippling of fabric, frozen, immortalised in wax, yet intrinsically unique to its display in this exhibition.

After this wave of quite frankly inspirational installations, I turn towards a rather flatter collection of paintings, situated in the centre of the exhibition hall. While competent, none really retain my interest, besides Sophie York’s work, with her command of the nature of fabric replicated in paint. Her understanding of physicality, of luxury, and of colour allows her to create standout works.  

Over towards the opposite wall, we find ‘Connections to Home’, a large composition by Emily Irwin. The painting appears to be beneath a dreamlike filter, softening the edges of its geometric abstraction. A striking, visceral sculpture from Sagnick Bhowmick, entitled ‘International Student’ presents a brutally immediate portrayal of disconnection, overstimulation, and chaos. A Large brain, many emotive heads attached to it through bright red connective strands. Amy Crisp’s ‘Plexiglass Pig’ hides the morbidity of its subject matter through a haze, allowing a viewer to disconnect from the clinically brutal nature of butchery. Mia Phillips collection of fauvist postcards, exhibited spanning a corner of a room, are a beautiful composition of memories, each informing the whole. Oriana Loucaidou half-fills a purpose-built loom with ‘Constant Vigilance’ – I find it a stand-out, the textures and deliberate nature of the threads suggesting a landscape without ever needing to become figurative.

I could continue to rattle of short lines about each and every artwork, but it wouldn’t do justice to the time, effort, skill, and integrity on display at the show. This year’s grad show at MSOA is undeniably impressive. Within this, there are some clear standouts: Masi Naidj, Deeqa Ismail, Victoria King. I hope to keep tabs on the artists I have encountered here and am interested to see how their careers progress.

As for the show itself, it is more than functional. It has allowed the artists to genuinely embed themselves within the gallery, enabling a range of mediums and messages to stand apart. While at times artworks seem to be in competition with one another, for the most part everyone is given room to breathe. The main contention is with the University itself, and the poor scheduling – setting the opening half-way through the exhibition, which risks undermining the successes of the artists on display. Yet, the artwork on display transcends mere competence, and is a genuine showcase of talent, ingenuity, and drive.