On Sunday 29th April at 2pm Phil Moody presents a photographic essay on the screen at Armley Mills Victorian cinema and plays piano accompaniment in a once-only performance. Casey and Boff posed some questions to Phil to find out more.
So, what will happen at this Millspace event?
There will be a screening of photographs in the beautifully restored Victorian cinema at Armley Mills. I will also be playing the piano that lives there, for atmosphere. I’ll talk about the images, my thinking behind them and my experience of the residency. Casey Orr will be asking me questions. I’m expecting cakes.
What is it about Armley Mills that has captured your imagination / informed this exhibition/event?
I have been looking around in the areas not accessible to the public, such as the store rooms, corridors, offices and workshops. It is a fascinating place, full of discovery and intrigue. I imagine the tens of thousands of lives that must of been affected by the Mills, and in lots of different ways. Thoughts occur such as what exactly happened there? and who were the workers? where, and which steps did they go up? and which was their door? And likewise the bosses, and their bosses. And what of the machines? Their Invention, their craftsmanship, their maintenance and competitiveness. I am particularly interested in how the objects trigger the imagination in terms of social and political history.
Objects, Power – how does this relate to your photographs?
I have had a kind of filter in my mind that is looking at objects in terms of power. For instance I noticed an old clocking in machine in the store rooms. It has ‘Time Recorders Leeds. Park Lane & Oxford Road Leeds’ inscribed on the dial. Who had to clock in? what pay was docked? And Park Lane? There are a lot of stories jumping at the thought of it. An object perhaps feared and loathed in it’s time. now impotent, once powerful, now collecting dust. Another example, an oil painting of some important textile merchant of his day, looking as if he owns the world, but where is the picture now and who sees it? It is a subjective interpretation of power that I see contained in objects.
Are kids welcome? Will they be bored?
Kids are welcome but I would like to talk about stuff that isn’t really directed towards kids, such as politics and aesthetics, so there is a good chance the would get restless and bored pretty quickly.
What’s in the exhibition, separate from the performance?
In the Millspace room there are some images that will be part of the slide show, there are also some images and sound taken from ‘Objects & Curious Tales,’ an ‘I Love West Leeds’ project first exhibited in the summer of 2011 at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley. It’s a great space for the artist in residence.
MillSpace is at Armley Mills, Canal Road, Armley, leeds, West Yorks, LS12 2QF