A controversial painting titled Ardwick Still Life has been causing a bit of a stir. While some say it is an exciting, contemporary update on the traditional still life, others think it is unnecessarily offensive to the deprived inner-city community, which has seen much recent investment.
The painting, by Macclesfield-based artist Steve Bewsher, shows a burst shopping bag, with its contents – which include tomatoes, Cadbury’s chocolate fingers, a box of eggs, a crisp packet, oranges and lemons – spilling out over the pavement.
Bewsher’s one-man show explores the city’s impact on man and man’s impact on the city. Other locations featured in the exhibition, which runs until September 29 at the Gateway Gallery in Hale, include the demolished ICL Tower in West Gorton, Portland Street, Tib Street, Mosley Street and the Bridgewater Canal as seen from the top of Beetham Tower.
(Main image: Ardwick Still Life by Steve Bewsher)
