A new exhibition showing the past and present face of Manchester is about to open - and it’s all thanks to a view from an office window.
The Made in Manchester exhibition by local artist Jean Hobson opens at the Portico Library and Gallery on Friday (2 July) and runs to July 29.
The exhibition features the Glossop-based artist's paintings, screen prints and drawings, which are her personal diary of Manchester's past buildings and their modern replacements.
Jean, who is also a part-time foster care support worker for Manchester City Council, says that a large part of the inspiration for her work comes from looking out at the landscape from her office based in Fujitsu tower, Gorton.
Jean said: "When I looked out of my office window the landscape and its buildings made a great impression on me. I revere the workmanship that went into a lot of our city's buildings and yet, at the same time, I admire the vitality and audacity of the new ones which have replaced them.
"What strikes me more than anything is how beautifully the old and the new all blend together in the city centre. Take the Urbis building as a prime example of a modern building - all those sheets of glass within it actually reflect some of the older architecture surrounding it."
All the buildings featured in the exhibition are also recorded in another personal way for Jean, who saved a brick from each one as it was demolished and built a wall in her garden with them.
"I look at my garden wall and I can tell you where each and every brick came from in the city," she says. "You could definitely say my wall was Made in Manchester too."
The Made in Manchester exhibition will be opened tomorrow night (Thursday 1July) by City Centre spokesman Councillor Pat Karney.
Councillor Karney, said: "Jean Hobson has produced some stunning paintings and screen prints of Manchester. They are some of the best I have seen - and once again show that Manchester's got talent. Jean's work is a colourful chronicle of Manchester's history and picture of its exciting future."
The Portico Library and Gallery is based at 57 Mosley Street Manchester. For more information telephone 0161 236 6785.