m a n c h e s t e rj u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 3

01i s s u e

a r t i s a n . s p i n n i n g f i e l d sa r t i s a n _ s f w ww . a r t i s a n . u k . c o m

artisan story // neasden control centre // m.i.f. ft. massiVe attacK + mcr art Gallery // drinKs diary // food tales // sculpture // illustration // staff

find us — artisan // first floor // aVenue north // spinninGfields // manchester // m3 3BZ // 0161 832 4181

We’ve arrived.

The start of the journey: To begin with, our illustrious leader Tim decided to create something different. Where we could fit lots of interesting people. Eating food from fire, drinking the night away and gazing at art.

Then… we found the space. So we called in all our mates. Mick and his gang of builders worked their holey socks off to get it ready. Michelle our guru of design scouted out craftsmen and independent artists. We filled the floor/walls/ceiling/ovens with their labours of love.

Everything that you see, touch and taste has been specially handcrafted by a talented bunch of creative humans, just for you.

We gathered the new generation Jack and Vera’s from our city to work with us.

And here we are.

t h e b i r t h o f a r t i s a n

o u r s t o r y

Where We’Ve come from and Where We’re GoinG

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i n t h e w o r d s o f t i m : “ i t ’ s t h e p e o p l e , t h e a r t , t h e f o o d . ”

The Lady at the top: our adventurer puts down roots.Once upon a time a French lady (mum) from top Paris restaurants met a Greek guy (dad) from the Tzoumerka mountains: at English class in Manchester, they fell in love, ah! So forth, came Anthea. An interesting mix of both cultures. Spending her early years catching white- bait from a bridge in Corinth, drinking fresh, warm goat’s milk and baking Mediterranean loaves in her Grandma’s outdoor oven.

For her, food and family go hand in hand, following summers spent feasting in Greece; on plastic chairs with her cousins. She says, “Treat the restaurant as your home, you are feeding friends.” She has trav-elled the world, exploring one munch/drink at a time: Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and more. Now, her passion is split between her graphic design degree/love for art, versus the allure of restaurants and bars. A firm belief that people ‘eat with their eyes’ combines the two.

King of the Artisan flames: our softly spoken Welshman.Artistic strings to his bow: trained in graphic design, illustration and fine art. His speciality (out of the kitchen) is children’s book illustration. However, most of Dylan’s drawing at the minute is done on the back of a napkin. At 23 he was playing guitar for a living in the rock band Gwacamoli* supported by The Strokes. Now his kicks come on two wheels instead of sleeping in four. Entering 80-mile bike races, cycling to work every day and escaping to the Peaks on a weekend.

No ‘shouty chef’– Dylan keeps his kitchen relaxed and happy. He’s suited to our ovens, saying: “It’s the fire where I’m most at home.” Either in a field over a gas-flame with his three kids, or in the restaurant. Then there’s his three-legged cat Merlin who stalks Dylan to work, hence his nickname, ‘Wizard’.

*oddest/best name

a n t h e a , g e n e r a l m a n a g e r

meet our people and find out What they’re all aBout

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d y l a n , h e a d c h e f

s t a f f s t o r i e s

Then it really is as easy as this:Roast your red pepper, high heat, in the oven. Crush or chop any bigger elements (red pepper in half, etc.) Whilst this is charring and starting to blacken, throw everything into a food processor and blend. Don’t make it too smooth so keep testing, it’s better big and chunky.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. This will make half a kilo of pesto so share with friends and family as a tasty starter. If you store it in a cool place it should last for three days. We would suggest using it as a yummy dip with bread, or you could even stir into a pasta to make a sauce.

Food from the fire, it was always going to be a chall-enge. Taking cooking back to basics in an oven gov-erned by a naked flame. Introducing our first feature dish: mussels swimming around in a curry and spinach sauce, baked within bread and served in the pan.

Dylan laboured lovingly over this for quite some time. Born from the notion of ‘put a lid on it’, not figuratively, literally. So a lid, on a dish, that isn’t a pie. Interesting. After playing around with two pans on top of each other, watching them struggle to balance like Bambi on ice, in his own words, he thought: ‘Sod it, let’s put some dough on it.’

He came up with a super special coronation curry sauce, mixed with shallots, spinach and raw mussels. Then laid the Artisan dough over the top of the skillet before throwing the whole pan into the flames. The dough cooks, cracks and chars whilst inside the mus-sels gently steam. Cut or rip open the domed dough lid and use it to scoop up the seafood and mop up the saucy curry.

You could share it, but you probably won’t want to.

Get to Grips With our menu and maKe it

3In the Artisan kitchen we really like our condiments. To create this all you’ll need is:500g sundried tomatoes200g parmesan cheese1 roasted red pepper250ml extra virgin olive oil100g wood fired hazelnuts

f o o d t a l e s

m a k e i t : r e d p e p p e r p e s t o

t h e d i s h : b r e a d b a k e d m u s s e l s

w i t h c u r r y & s p i n a c h

The perfect elixir for lazy afternoons in the sun. Or, if you live in Manchester, it works just as well in the rain. Trust us. Combining fresh mint and cool cucumber with the quintessentially British flavours of gin and elderflower.

It’s British Summertime in a glass— so even if the sun doesn’t grace us with its literal presence, we can still drink it. To make this you will need:2tsp caster sugarSmall handful of mint leavesJuice of half a lime25ml pressed apple juice30ml gin15ml elderflower liqueurSoda water

To get your drink on, simply:Combine the caster sugar, mint and lime juice in a Boston glass or shaker tin and stir well to dissolve the sugar. To this, add the gin, elderflower liqueur and apple juice. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a wine glass lined with cucumber slices and filled with ice. Top up with a splash of soda water and garnish with a sprig of mint.

How about making a big two-litre jug of this, sitting out in the garden, or on the balcony, (weather permitting) and relaxing. Just times everything by 5!

all thinGs alcohol related With a hoW to

m i x i t : c u c u m b e r & e l d e r f l o w e r c o o l e r

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d r i n k s d i a r y

As you’ll see, our bar is pretty damn odd, but in a brilliantly unique way. The Artisan cocktail list was devel- oped over time, with the same hand crafted sensibility that runs through the food, furniture and artwork. Our bar gurus have worked very hard to ensure that all of our cocktails look like they taste – so, beautiful.

Say ‘Hola’ to our Chili Gin Colada, a fresh quirky take on an 80’s classic. If you like gin (and getting caught in the rain) then this is the drink for you. We have binned the standard

maraschino cherry and rum, in fav- our of fiery chili and gin. We’ve got nothing against the original, created by a guy called Ramón from Puerto Rico back in 1954. It took him three tough months of experimentation; knee deep in coconut cream, to come up with this signature drink. So, hats off to you Sir. However, our twist on the ‘Pina’ has gin, coconut cream, pineapple and lime juice, finished with a kick from fresh red chili. Smooth, creamy, hot and unusual, like us (the unusual bit).

t h e d r i n k : c h i l i g i n c o l a d a

c r a f t b o b , w i r e s c u l p t u r e s

a Bunch of craftsfolK helped furnish / Build us — meet them here

Eccentric creator of our eerie wire figures. Using only old Argos cat-alogues, parcel tape, wire and fire; he builds his magical metal people. We met up with artist Bob for a quick cuppa and a cuddle with his cat Spider, in Scarborough.

Why wire? I’m a severely colour- blind artist, so as you can imagine painting is a pain in the arse. When I’m teaching I have to ask the kids what colour they’re using!

What do you teach? Art, to boys who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. It’s a pretty intense full time job.

In the beginning… I always loved drawing, but my dad said: “Go out and get a job.” I was born at a time when they didn’t encourage art. So I did warehousing, £25 quid a week – pretty much slave labour.

What got you back into art?A friend said I ought to start again, she’d seen these tiny Faberge eggs I’d made, with working draws and hinges. I took them to York uni and they loved them, so I started fine art and found 3D. Everything I’ve done is luck and probably charm.

Who do you sell to? Anyone and everyone, I’m rubbish at selling it myself. Ricky Gervais has one, he stole it from the set on The Office Christmas Special. A guy in London had 15 of them in his garden and it won the Times ‘Back Garden of the Year’ award.

What do folk think of them? People come up with their own stories, which I like; they say there’s loads of emotion in them. A lot of them are based around pain, but not these ones.

How on earth do you do it? I use catalogues to create the shape. People say: “Argos catalogues, is he on drugs?” Then I wrap brown tape around them, then three types of wire; it kills your hands. You turn it over and think, ‘Oh Christ when is this going to end.’ It takes about a month because I have to wait for my hands to heal. I burn the paper from the middle in my garden. The neigh- bours haven’t noticed… yet. Each one of them is unique because the inner- body can’t be reused. They’re beautiful, don’t you think? Well it’s like a mechanic fixes a car, he doesn’t go home and think: ‘Oh I’m bloody brilliant I fixed a car today.’ I don’t see what other people see because it’s what I do.

What do you reckon to ours? They have a sense of freedom; they are beckoning people to come play.

“ t h e y a r e s u p p o s e d t o b e p e t e r p a n - e s q u e , f l o a t i n g a s o p p o s e d t o f l y i n g . ”

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“ t r a v e l i s i m p o r t a n t — i t m a k e s y o u l o o k a t e v e r y t h i n g w i t h a f r e s h p e r s p e c t i v e . ”

London based Neasden Control Centre has painted, illustrated, installed and designed his way around Artisan. Creating instantly recognisable, but inherently unique work by combining an array of me- diums, disciplines and techniques. Read our quick natter with the man behind the art.

How did it all start? It started with a love of making artwork from an early age with a DIY approach. That feeling hasn’t gone away yet.

Did your time in MCR affect your work? My family lived in Lancas-ter when I was growing up so the North West has always had a spe-cial influence on me. In 2005 I had a studio on Tib Street and by then the transformation of the Northern Quarter was in full swing. I often wonder how Manchester feels about that now.

Do cities have a direct influence on you? Yes definitely, but I wouldn’t say it’s just cities that have a direct influence – I love getting out of the city as much as being in it. I think most places are about the people you meet while you’re there. I travel as often as I can, so that definitely influences me. My favourite mode of transport is the train, especially when travelling across continents like Europe or America.

Is it important for you to work with a space? The scale of a space and the way it is lit defines an environ- ment – it’s really important for me to work with a space and not against it. I believe in ‘architecture sickness’ – some buildings make you feel good (or bad!) just by being in them. Scale is important in my work and I relish the opportunity to work with it.

You blend a range of techniques, is this a natural process? Thanks. Nothing is forced – I like to rely on intuition and make use of whatever tool does the best job. Using digital media has made pro- ducing work quicker than ever to get that “hand made”, or “naive”, aesthetic, but I’m interested in the visual impact of the real thing.

Why does typography feature so heavily in your work? I love type. I see type as an image. I’m constant- ly working on making new forms, lines and shapes in each letterform. The history of type and typograph- ers continues to be a huge part of my research. I would love to make more three-dimensional typefaces.

What are your plans for the future? To keep making work that I feelproud of.

a r t

We’re stuffed full of art so hear from the creators

n e a s d e n c o n t r o l c e n t r e ,

m u r a l s a n d p a i n t i n g s .

neasdencontrolcentre.com

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We’ve been waiting for this… Massive Attacks Robert Del Naja described it as ‘a collective hallucination’ – excited much? Deserted since 1986, this abandoned railway station will play host to the combined talents of the two visionaries: Naja and Curtis. Prepare to witness a combination of the powerful, thought-pro-voking films Curtis is renowned for with the myster- ious musical prowess of Naja’s band. As the only shows Massive Attack will play this year we expect tickets won’t hang around for long.

Ever fancied becoming ‘part of art?’ Well Hans Ulrich Obrist’s, ‘do it’, first came to fruition in 1993 and lets you do just that. Artists and visitors alike are invited to partake in the exhibition through a series of written instructions. The concept is celebrating its 20th anniv- ersary and so incorporates past instructions with new ones. In the words of MIF: ‘they range from the ac-tive and the absurd to the profound and philosophical.’ Intrigued? We are, so lets go, get involved and indulge our inner creative instincts.

We implore you to get your dancing, bouncing, shuffling shoes on and head down to Festival (Albert) Square. For the entirety of MIF a collection of the best DJs from around the UK will be playing to the crowds. Expect to see the likes of Will Tramp, Justine Alderman, Disco Mums, Gregling, Dialog, Dave Haslam and Andrea Trout spinning throughout the day and into the night. Have we mentioned that it’s also free, which always sits well with us. In the Pavillion Theatre there will be a selection of ticketed events ranging from Drunk at Vogue playing vintage and future club classics along-side Dave Haslam’s legendary DJ night on the penulti-mate evening of the festival.

Operating within the foodie industry, we are constantly aware of the growing pressures placed on producers, consumers and farmers. Just about everyone who buys, grows, sells or eats food is affected; due to a rise in costs, the ever-changing climate and our booming populations. This intelligent, interactive project is an absolute ‘must-visit’ to see new sustainable ways of urban living explored. The ingenious minds behind the Biopsheric Project have created an urban farm, lab, and research centre in the derelict Irwell House in Salford. It will continue going and growing beyond the festival itself.

a r t i s a n P i c k s m a n c h e s t e r

i n t e r n a t i o n a l f e s t i v a l

What We’ll Be doinG in and around our city

d J s a t f e s t i v a l s q u a r e a l b e r t s q u a r e

4 — 2 1 J u l y 2 0 1 3

d o i t 2 0 1 3 m a n c h e s t e r a r t g a l l e r y

t h e b i o s p h e r i c p r o J e c t i r w e l l h o u s e , s a l f o r d

7It’s the fourth year and we’re doubly, triply, quadruplely (grammar down the pan) excited for the return of MIF. Showcasing earth-shatteringly-groundbreaking per- formances in theatre, art and music, and housed in many venues ranging from the iconic to the isolated. Cultural institutions such Manchester Town Hall will play stage alongside a deconsecrated church and a cavernous secretive space next to Piccadilly.

m a s s i v e a t t a c k v a d a m c u r t i s m a y f i e l d d e p o t

Here are few things we’ll be certain to get down to.We’ve tried to pick mostly FREE events, but jump on www.mif.co.uk for detailed information and tickets. Don’t hesitate, these tickets/spaces are likely to go.

desiGn By textBooK studio