Taking place in the refurbished Whitworth Gallery, Thursday Lates offers late-night openings to the galleries with a twist. Wandering around, it was obvious that this was how galleries should be experienced. With DJs and jazz quartets echoing around the galleries and breathing new life into the exhibits, both artistic novices and royalty were seeing things from a new, refreshing, perspective.
What truly caught my attention was a SICK! Festival installation, titled "Laughing Hole". A six-hour long performance which aimed to confront the themes of sexuality, abuse and suicide, Laughing Hole filled the Grand Hall with continuous laughter and littered it with hundreds of cardboard signs. Three women roamed freely with disturbingly labelled placards (e.g "Impotent Mum" and "Warlord") and confronted visitors with their focused stares and disjointed cackling. The absurd nature of the space resulted in initial laughter, however with speaker systems amplifying the noise the oppressive atmosphere caused many to repeatedly read the placards for some distraction. Many watched others reactions, to see how they were coping. While being free to leave at any point, the combination of the laughter, signs and stares resulted in a sense of claustrophobia, which made the artistic themes really resonate. From an outsiders view I was completely unshackled, but inside I felt nailed to the floor. Never before have I experienced so much in an art installation.
Overall, the night showed that to bring the gallery to life, all you needed was some jazz, some drinks and a hard-hitting performance. If this edition was anything to go by, the Whitworth Lates have got themselves a regular visitor.
