Ode to Manchester

Salford maybe my "hometown" but I feel myself more strongly in Manchester. Today in order to find places to hang my #Brightercityproject Teru teru bonzu I just wandered. I went with my gut and what way peeked my interest, if you asked me to find the exact locations of where I hung the Teru teru bonzu I probably wouldn't be able to find a large number of them. It was fun to think of how long it might take people to find them hours, days, weeks...who knows. One thing I noticed while straying from the frequently traveled paths is that Manchester is a city of irony and juxtaposition. How so you may ask? A posh restaurant, bar or cafe next to an old abandoned building or a neglected alleyway. This was surprisingly a common sight. Austerity in the middle of abandonment. There were times where I felt threatened I walked down several streets and saw men staring me down. When I stumbled across a familiar route I felt comfortable and relieved. I have walked through the city many times but never like that. When I got lost in the city it would reduce me to tears, shear panic would rip through me I would feel helpless and small against the buildings and other people. The crowds would churn around me engulf me and drag me further from the path. Little did I know back then if I had just removed the path and aimed to just eventually stumble upon what I am looking for it could all be avoided. I didn't feel small, I didn't feel panicked, I felt like a tower, I felt confident and powerful somehow by relinquishing the control that was tied to I final destination. My goal was to wander and hang my signs and leave them behind and not look back and not care about what would happen to them afterwards. I noticed many things I wouldn't have noticed otherwise, a little boy walking with his mother and a friend through a seedy part of town carrying his toys with him. A wannabe gangster taking a piss in and ally next to an expensive bar. The only times I felt somewhat anxious is when people we watching me, cars drove slowly past me and when I was going to take a picture of where a homeless person sleeps (I got too anxious to actually take a picture). That is a lot less anxiety than I would normally have. This experience has been eye opening and I hope through this post and through the work itself it will be eye opening to others as well.