Domestique, Façadism and Histoire Economique in 'Head to Head'

‘Head to Head’ was a two-person exhibition at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, including works by Hayley Newman and Emily Speed.

Newman exhibited three new works in ‘Head to Head’. ‘Domestique’ (2010-13) was a series of over seventy dishcloths embroidered with faces (thirty-eight were exhibited).

The second body of work in the exhibition was ‘Façadism’ (2013-present), short stories about faces and building façades, presented as a group of A1 posters, pasted directly onto the gallery walls. ‘Façadism’ takes its title from architectural terminology describing the practice of demolishing a building while maintaining its façade. Designed by the Fraser Muggeridge Studio, the stories were mocked up to resemble photocopies of an old book. Pages were unnumbered and the writing is ongoing.

The final work in this grouping was a series of frottage renderings of the fronts of banks, entitled ‘Histoire Economique’ (2013), a reference to Max Ernst’s ‘Histoire Naturelle’ (1926). While Ernst’s exquisite rubbings were made in his studio, the rubbings in ‘Histoire Economique’ were taken from the fronts of banks and made outdoors in the City of London.