Artist uses 'disliked' car park as muse

A shopping centre's car park is the inspiration behind a new art exhibition.

Artist Alison Waters said the Merseyway car park in Stockport was the muse for her latest collection of ceramics, currently on display at the Modernist Society gallery in Manchester.

A concrete screen wall with cut-out holes surrounds the car park, designed by architect Alan Boyson.

Ms Waters, from Bramhall, said the modernist structure "represents what people don't like about Stockport," but she hoped her exhibition would help people see the beauty in the town.

"There's a real mix of architecture in the town and everyone loves the Victorian bits, but when it come to the modernist architecture they struggle," Ms Waters said.

She said the ceramics were inspired by the views of Stockport through the gaps in Boyson's sculpture and described her exhibition as a love letter to the town, where modernist and industrial architectural styles have stood side-by-side since World War Two.

"I became fascinated with this slice of urban landscape visible through the holes of Boyson's screen," she added.

"It was like looking onto a miniature landscape, a snapshot of the town's architectural heritage, with Victorian, brutalist, and contemporary buildings all contained within a modernist shape."

Ms Waters said the concrete screen, which was a part of the original Merseyway development in 1965, was the backdrop to everyone's youth in Stockport, even though they may not have appreciated it.

"As teenagers you would park up in the car park or go shopping in the Merseyway, so the screen was a constant in everyone's lives," she said.

The artist moved to Stockport at eight years old and lived in Manchester for a while as an adult.

"When I was younger Stockport felt a bit grim because there wasn't any investment at that time so it was very run down," she said.

"I had a studio in Manchester for a while and when I moved back I challenged myself to find the beauty in the town.

"Now I hope I can help other people do the same."

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