Two Rochdale Artists Represent Manchester in Italy

Sculptor Kara Lyons and Sound Artist Maryanne Royle are both artists based in Rochdale and active members of Ebor Studio Group.

In November they travelled to Schio in Northern Italy to install three works in an ex-textile mill for an exhibition.

The exhibition ÌNSITO draws inspiration from the Latin insitus, meaning “rooted within”, to explore the intrinsic connection between human beings and their surrounding environment. In this context, the works become a medium of interconnection, offering new perspectives on how we perceive and interact with the surrounding world.

Through a multidimensional artistic lens, Marta Martino, Anne Grebby, Emma Critchley, Kara Lyons, and Maryanne Royle engage with the concepts of transformation and adaptation, offering the audience an immersive journey that reveals subtle connections among emotional and cultural dimensions.

A translated article from local Schio paper:

The exhibition at Lanificio Conte
A Bridge of Art Between Schio and Manchester

Until the 22nd: "Insito. Contemporary Art"
In Schio: featuring works by four British artists, previously exhibited at the Biennale, alongside Vicenza-based artist Martino.

"Insito. Contemporary Art" is an exhibition curated by Monica Pirani at Lanificio Conte, running until December 22 (open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, from 10 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM).

This all-female showcase features internationally renowned British artists Emma Critchley, Anne Grebby, Kara Lyons, and Maryann Royle, all of whom have previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Joining them is the versatile Vicenza-based artist Marta Martino.

The exhibited works, varied in form and style, share a thematic focus on probing the depths of the soul. They explore how identity transforms when it comes into contact with external reality, reshaping itself into a dimension that transcends human comprehension and finds expression through artistic language.

Art in this context offers fresh perspectives on how we imagine and perceive the surrounding world, serving as a means of connection and understanding.

The exhibition also serves as a bridge between Schio and Manchester, or more broadly, the north of England, from which Maryanne Royle and Kara Lyons hail. This shared history of industrial archaeology and tradition takes form in poignant, wordless video works where the artist becomes a solitary witness to a past that endures in cultural traditions.

This connection is materialized in Arteria, a temporal installation created by Lyons and Royle. Positioned on a surface overlooking the canal that once powered the factory's machinery, the piece is composed of clay, graphite dust, and water. The installation spans over ten meters and captures the imprint of Lyons’ footsteps as she walked upon the material, forming a physical and emotional narrative. This visual work is accompanied by sound recordings by Royle, captured in Schio, adding an auditory dimension to the piece.

The echo of these themes is reflected in the materials used by Marta Martino for her installation. Incorporating textiles into a blend of performance and painting, Martino creates a hypnotic scenography that resonates with the shared histories and landscapes explored by the exhibition. On one screen, a fragment from a live six-hour art performance held in Thiene in 2024 is projected. The video features a young man bathed in red light, staring directly into the camera. Behind him, the artist silently moves, painting the walls of the enclosed space in near-total darkness while being observed by spectators from outside.

With a multimedia artistic lens, the participating artists delve into a wide array of themes, offering the audience an immersive journey that reveals subtle connections between emotional, cultural, and sensory dimensions. Anne Grebby, in her work A*void Dance, conceptualizes art as a process of self-discovery leading back to the world. Her exploration is represented through drawings and vibrant photographs from videos where she repeatedly performs the same act throughout her life—drawing a circle to delineate an inner space, much like a compass of identity. Amid Grebby’s poetry and literary references, the exhibition elevates the uniqueness of the human experience as an absolute value.

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