And Breathe... Further information about artworks and transcript of audio meditations

Please return this booklet to the holder after use for others to enjoy

You can download the information from this booklet at manchesterartgallery.org/exhibitions-and-events/exhibition/and-breathe/ Cover image: Marcus Coates Sea Mammal (detail), 2003 Archival Inkjet Print. Courtesy of Workplace Gallery, London. Taking time to savour pleasant experiences, such as looking at art, can increase our mental wellbeing. In this space, we invite you to slow down and connect with art mindfully, moment by moment.

Mindfulness can help us become more aware of thoughts, feelings and emotions, as well as our surroundings by taking time to just pay attention through our senses. Over time, mindfulness can bring about long-term changes in mood and levels of happiness and wellbeing. Some scientific studies have shown that it can significantly reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression as well as improve our ability to learn and be creative.

Working with three communities we explored how we could support the wellbeing of visitors by creating a space that would enable this slowing down and mindful connection to take place. The artworks and the way they are presented were inspired by our community participants and their responses in a series of mindfulness sessions. Furniture, the colour scheme, height of art works and audio have all been carefully selected to enhance wellbeing. There is no right or wrong way to engage with art but we hope that, should you choose to, your experience is complemented by these considerations.

This exhibition has been co-curated with mental health organisations Start in Manchester and Manchester Mind as well as Year 5 and 6 pupils from Charlestown Community Primary School. Pennine Landscape 2004 James Naughton 1971 Oil on board

James Naughton doesn’t depict specific places in his landscapes. His interest lies in creating an emotive universal experience derived from a culmination of his experience, memory, imagination and painting process. He doesn’t create landscapes in a traditional way, from sketches, photographs or direct experience, but prefers to work in an intuitive way, letting the natural movement of oil paint direct the scene. In this way his paintings strike a balance between representation and abstraction.

The depiction and emotional power of the play of light on land is a major preoccupation for Naughton and he states that he is ‘searching to communicate the very essence of light, how it travels, is absorbed, its warmth and the powerful emotional feelings it evokes in us.’

He also strives to create ‘a sense that elemental forces are at work, with huge clouds hanging over endless horizons, sunlight emerging through the darkness.’

Purchased 2005 Cave 1990 Prunella Clough 1919-1999 Oil on canvas

Throughout her career, Prunella Clough paid attention to aspects of urban and industrial life that are overlooked. She explored areas around housing estates or factories that border urban and rural environments, places that have been forgotten or designated as wastelands.

Clough was wary of abstract art that had no connection with the outside world. She stressed the need to go on looking and finding excitement in the overlooked, abandoned and discarded, taking notice of natural and manmade forms, shapes and textures. She always had a notebook and would detail the places she visited, creating word sketches and taking close-up photographs to capture the sensations that particular places or objects had created in her. These provided source material for her art.

The luminous grey dominating Cave could be smoke or stone with its hazy quality, cracks and imprints. This contrasts with the bright yellow stripes of what has been described as a ‘sweet paper’ pattern that decorate the twin lemon-like shapes that float or appear out of the haze.

Purchased with the assistance of the Victoria & Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund 1994.104 Sea Mammal 2003 Marcus Coates 1968 - Archival inkjet print

Marcus Coates regularly appears in his own photographs, films and performances, often transforming himself into an animal, insect or mollusc through the use of homemade headdresses or costumes. His work is embedded in a dialogue with ornithology, zoology, anthropology and philosophy as he explores encounters between the animal and human world and how behaviours intersect.

Sea Mammal was developed during a residency by the artist in Berwick upon Tweed. The comic nature of the headdress jars against the sublime landscape, giving the appearance of indifference to the natural surroundings.

Participants in the mindfulness sessions leading up to the selection of the works on display responded in various ways to this artwork. Many felt that the knot of balloons represented a confused or anxious mind and sense of claustrophobia, but that being out in the natural surroundings would ease this feeling.

Purchased 2008 Image courtesy Workplace Gallery, London Scrolls I 1933 Cecil Stephenson 1889-1965 Oil on canvas on board

Cecil Stephenson was one of a group of artists that pioneered abstract art in England in the 1930s, which included Barbara Hepworth, whose sculpture Doves is also on display in this gallery. His style was distinguished by the use of a few, simple and usually, geometric forms.

Stephenson drew inspiration from his love of music, mechanics and architecture. He played the piano throughout his life, which infused his paintings with a sense of lyricism. He compared the use of harmony and counterpoint in music to the abstract artist’s use of horizontal and vertical lines ‘breaking into one another’. The basic forms of musical composition and mechanical studies fed into his series of early geometric forms such as scrolls.

Stephenson was passionate about harnessing the power of art to change the environment, teaching architecture students the importance of looking and incorporating art into their practice. He created everything from public murals, to designs for glass panels to clad buildings. Drawing on his work as a tool maker in the First World War he constructed metal furniture, staircases and even a miniature steam locomotive for his garden.

In an essay about Stephenson in 1976, the critic, curator and writer Jasia Reichardt wrote ‘Art, for Stephenson, was an extension of life which he sometimes described as an “intense will to form”.’

Purchased 1977.1 Nocturnal Landscape 1938 Paul Nash 1819-1946 Oil on canvas

Paul Nash was influenced by a range of artistic sources, from the Pre-Raphaelites and mystical painters such as Samuel Palmer and William Blake to the 20th century art movements of Modernism and Surrealism. Much like the Surrealist artist Yves Tanguy, whose work you can see nearby, Nash had a fascination for an ancient past depicted in a modern way.

He lived through a range of difficult experiences, including the early death of his father, trauma in the First World War and, in his role as an official war artist, was called to depict the destruction wreaked by the Second World War. In his later years his chronic asthma would bring about severe feelings of claustrophobia, which he said ‘invaded me throughout the day’. All of this contributed to his strange, uniquely visionary landscapes that are imbued with a sense of escapism and intense emotion.

Nash had a deep attachment to nature and landscape and, as critic and writer Roger Cardinal said, would revisit favoured places to ‘renew his emotional stock in nourishing surroundings’. He was drawn to natural sites that had folkloric or mystical associations and would endeavour to capture what he called ‘the spirit of a place’. Landscapes featuring megaliths or menahirs, such as Avebury in Wiltshire, had a profound effect on Nash and he populated many of his paintings such as Nocturnal Landscape with strange stone forms that resembled figures looming in the landscape, but which are rooted in the earth.

Purchased 1948.134 Echelles 1935 Yves Tanguy 1900-1955 Oil on canvas

Yves Tanguy’s landscapes strike a balance between realism and fantasy. He was a member of the early 20th century Surrealist group, who focussed on the inner world of dreams and the subconscious mind rather than depicting the external world. In the aftermath of the First World War this group of artists, writers and poets turned to the inner world of imagery and ideas, drawing on the psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, particularly Freud’s writings on the interpretation of dreams.

Echelles means shells and the scene appears to depict a beach. However, there is no horizon line. The sky and earth appear to merge, achieved through the continuous gradation of colour over the surface. This, along with the strange, but vaguely recognisable organic forms creates a sense of both real and unreal. Taking his cue from Jung, who urged his patients to begin with their dream, and work outwards, he painted backgrounds and shadows first, before adding his unique symbolic forms.

Tanguy’s symbolism is personal, reflecting his obsession with childhood memory and dreams. He drew on the ancient landscapes and the Neolithic stones of the far west coast of Brittany where he had grown up. His father was a mariner and Tanguy spent time as a sea cadet, so the sea held an emotional resonance for him.

Lord Sidney Bernstein Bequest 1995.37 Doves 1927 Barbara Hepworth 1903-1975 Parian marble

Barbara Hepworth transformed a single block of stone into a pair of doves, which tenderly nestle up against each other. The birds seem to emerge out of the stone and the smooth polished surface of the doves contrasts with the rough texture of the base. Hepworth’s use of simplified forms and flowing lines follows her interest in Cubism and abstract art, which were becoming the dominant art forms of the period.

Hepworth was just 24 when she created Doves. Whilst studying art in Rome, she was taught the traditional technique of marble carving by the Italian master-carver Ardini. Throughout her life she believed in truth to materials and through carving she sought to preserve the character of the stone, thus emphasising the beauty of the marble. Whilst in Italy, Hepworth experienced what she termed as the ‘joyousness and brilliance of life’. She felt a great sense of freedom and loved the strong light and classical architecture, which stirred her deeply and renewed her vitality for artistic expression.

In 1966 Hepworth described her approach to sculpture as ‘a three-dimensional projection of a primitive feeling: touch, texture, size and scale, hardiness and warmth, evocation and compulsion to move, live and love’.

Purchased 1942 Turning Hallway 2003 James Casebere 1953- C-type print on plexiglass and aluminium

American artist James Casebere explores the intersection between photography, sculpture and architecture. Using cardboard, plaster and Styrofoam he builds table-top models of interior spaces. The models are then lit dramatically and photographed to produce high-specification prints.

Casebere’s ambiguous image creates a space for our imagination. These austere, empty spaces which, although devoid of people or narrative, often suggest a presence or imminent drama. Is this an institutional, cold, unwelcoming and unnerving place, or is it calm, quiet place that is a refuge from the busyness of everyday life?

Casebere himself recognises the value of introversion and solitude: ‘My work addresses the fact that we are all isolated in our own perspectives, whether it be our own little worlds or larger constructions of society and history.’

Purchased through the Contemporary Art Society Special Collection Scheme, supported by funds from Arts Council Lottery and Manchester City Galleries’ Corporate Patrons 2018.62 Interior 1924 Gwen John 1876-1939 Oil on canvas

This interior shows the top floor of 29 Rue Terre Nueve I Meudon, Gwen John’s own residence on the outskirts of Paris. John often painted her own sparsely furnished room, treating her own environment as her refuge. She said ‘it seems I am not myself except in my room.’

John uses a controlled painting method with a harmonious blend of muted colours in a close range of tones. This approach highlights the subtleties and gradients of colour. The result is the effect of a diffused light illuminating her attic room and the objects appear to be viewed through a soft veil.

She developed a quiet and contemplative approach to her art which alludes to a meditative and interior life. John cherished her privacy, living a solitary existence, even reluctant to exhibit or sell her work. She mastered the expression of a mood of quiet contemplation, and wrote to a friend ‘I may never have anything to express, except this desire for a more interior life.’

In his book on Gwen John, Passion and Method, Christopher Neve wrote that this degree of isolation and introspection ‘seems always to have produced a form of self-portrait, whether or not she was painting herself.’

Charles L Rutherston gift 1925.262 Untitled 1973 Albert Irvin 1922-2015 Acrylic and oil on canvas

The scale and saturated colour of Untitled 1973 work together to create a sense of immersion and express the spontaneous, joyful approach that Albert Irvin employed in creating works of this scale.

Early in his career Irvin was inspired by British artists such as Peter Lanyon, whose work is also present in And Breathe…, as well as the American Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s and 60s, including his friend Mark Rothko.

Irvin strove to create works that would visually capture and express the human spirit without having to imitate reality through the depiction of recognisable features and motifs. He did this through the use of colour, shape and gesture, building up layers of paint to create a sense of dynamism and depth to represent that energy. His obituary in The Guardian described the approach: ‘Irvin’s celebratory approach epitomised the idea of painting as the expression of the life force within the space of the image.’

Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax from the estates of Albert and Betty Irvin and allocated to Manchester Art Gallery, 2018 Image courtesy the estate of the artist and Gimpel Fils The following pages are transcripts of the free mindful audio guides available at the exhibition entrance. The audios range from 1 minute to 10 minutes in length.

Introduction (1min 44sec)

Mindfulness is a simple form of meditation that involves us being aware of our thoughts, feelings and emotions as well as our surroundings, moment by moment. A typical mindfulness meditation consists of paying attention to one of three things - your breathing, physical sensations in the body or a sensory experience and bringing your attention back whenever the mind starts to wander.

Over time, mindfulness can bring about long-term changes in mood and levels of happiness and wellbeing. Some scientific studies have shown that it can significantly reduce the symptons of stress, anxiety and depression as well as improve our ability to learn and be creative.

In these short audio guides we invite you to notice when your mind has drifted away from looking at the painting and gently escort your attention back. If your mind wanders off once or 100 hundred times during this process, it doesn’t matter. It’s the returning of our attention that counts. So do this as many times as necessary. Stop, look at the painting in front of you, notice colour, textures, shapes, light and shadow - and when your attention drifts away, which it inevitably will, notice that this has happened and gently escort it back to the painting. To looking. To begin again.

This is the art of mindfulness. Meditation 1 (1min 12sec) Untitled by Albert Irvin

Art can inspire a lot of thought in our minds, very often when we look at a painting our mind immediately tries to make sense of it. What does it mean?, we might ask ourselves. Who painted it and why? Analysing, interpreting, critiquing; in other words thinking about it.

Of course, there is no right or wrong way to experience art but in this short mindful practice I invite you to simply be with the artwork. Looking, noticing it, savouring this experience of sitting in this gallery, looking at this painting, in this moment.

And for however long you choose to sit here asking yourself the question: what can I notice about this painting? What can I notice about this experience? Meditation 2 (6min 49sec) Cave by Prunella Clough

Starting off this short mindfulness practice by sending our full attention to the painting in front of you. And noticing any judgements or reactions you may have already had about this artwork.

Thoughts about whether you like it or not. Whether you think it’s good art or not.

Being aware of how quickly we make judgements about things, in our mind. And the thing about judgements is that we make them all the time, about lots of things. The practice of mindfulness is not about stopping these judgments or thoughts, in fact that would be impossible. Mindfulness simply encourages us to notice when they occur. To be aware of this. In other words, it’s okay to make judgements as long as know that that’s what we’re doing.

And the reason why this is good for our mental health is because a lot of our difficulty comes from believing our judgments or thoughts to be facts or truths. When they’re not. Thoughts are not facts or truths. They are simply thoughts. Mental events that arise in the mind, stay a while - some longer than others - but then disperse. And practicing the habit of noticing our thoughts helps us to change our relationship to them. We become more objective, impartial towards them. Less reactive. They begin have less power over us. And therefore our emotions.

So let’s turn our attention back to the painting. And just for the next minute or so I want you to notice any thoughts that arise in the mind. Thoughts about liking it, disliking it. Perhaps feelings of being bored or restless, urges to get to the end of this practice. Or feelings of curiosity, interest, enjoyment. Whatever it is. Whatever happens in this moment, for you, I simply want you to notice it. Without wishing it to be different. So, sending your attention now to the shapes in the middle. What do we notice here?

Perhaps they remind you something. Perhaps not.

What colours can you notice in them?

Yellow, of course. What else? Grey. Faint shadows of blue. Little dabs of pink dotted between the lines. Darker outlines around the edges of the forms.

Broadening out our focus and taking in the whole artwork. What do you notice now? Lines, patterns, textures, imprints, smudges and shapes

Colours

Did you notice in the top left corner shades of emerald green?

So I invite you now to sit here for as long as you want. To look slowly. To really pay attention to what you can see, to notice what thoughts occur in the mind. And to simply be aware of that. And whatever comes up, letting that be. Just for now. Just for this moment. Meditation 3 (7min 7sec) How to bring about mindfulness in everyday moments inspired by Gwen John’s Interior

Interior by Gwen John

When we’ve done mindfulness sessions here at Manchester Art Gallery something that comes up again and again from people is this idea of not having enough time to practice mindfulness. Finding it difficult to fit it in an already busy and demanding day. Time is something many of us feel short of, modern life can be over-stimulating and challenging and we might, quite understandably think to ourselves: I don’t have ten minutes a day to meditate! And even if I did have an extra ten minutes a day I would spend it with my family, catching up with friends or meeting a work deadline. Taking ten minutes for ourselves may, for some feel self-indulgent or even just impossible to achieve.

However, mindfulness is a technique that can be applied to everyday moments, actions, to things we are already doing. So instead of feeling the pressure to create yet more time to practice we gently encourage people to experiment with taking a more mindful approach to things that they already do.

Something I like to do in my mindfulness practice is what I like to call ‘mindful moments’. Little moments throughout the day that I bring a few seconds of mindful awareness to. These are everyday, ordinary events. But just for a few seconds at time they become a little bit more mindful.

This painting Interior by Gwen John reminds me of one of those moments. We notice a table draped with a white tablecloth on top of which are some objects. A tray or is it a newspaper, a tea cup and of course, a little brown teapot.

What we’re looking at here is an ordinary and familiar domestic scene. And it is within these very ordinary everyday moments that we can bring mindfulness. So perhaps the next time you sit at a table like this, what would it be like to take just a few seconds to notice shadows or reflections of light on the objects on the table, like we see here on the brown teapot. Little specks of light.

As you pour hot tea from the pot, noticing the sounds as the liquid hits the cup, the different tones and colours of the tea - , the rise of the steam, the scent of the tea leaves. Perhaps placing your hand on the side of the cup, noticing the temperature through your sense of touch.

Lifting the cup, as you bring it up to your mouth, noticing the weight, it’s heaviness and the way our fingers feel wrapped around it. Noticing the sensation of the steam as it we draw it closer to our lips. And finally as we take that first sip, the taste.

And by doing this we bring a little moment of mindfulness to an action that we were already going to do. They can be a few seconds at a time but these little pockets of pause throughout the day have been proven to gently reduce stress. And we didn’t have to carve out the time to do it, somehow find more time in our already busy day, we simply applied mindfulness to things that we already do.

When you leave the art gallery today maybe you could think of other everyday activities that you do that you might be able to do just a bit more mindfully. Stopping, slowing down, bringing your full awareness to the sensations of the experience even if it’s just for that first taste of tea.