Relics: Objects of Devotion for Contemporary Life, Dawn Woolley

Dawn Woolley presents familiar objects in an unfamiliar way, examining consumerism and branding through a queer feminist lens. Blurring the boundaries between self-portraiture and still-life, her more recent work presents objects as bodies. Woolley’s artwork is unexpected, surprising, and sometimes unsettling.

This exhibition brings together four of the artist’s series’, along with new work each scrutinising elements of consumption. ‘Celebrate’ looks at contradictory and troubling relationships to consumerism; ‘Life Cycle’ portrays different ages of the female consumer; ‘Relics’ inspects dominant gender stereotypes in branding; and ‘Host Figures (They Live)’ looks at how gender specific toys and sweets can influence behaviour from an early age.

A series of new sculptures focus on consumer waste and environmental impact. ‘Sirins’, sculptural birds made from papier mâché newspaper headlines, take their name from a Slavic mythical bird-woman who lures men to their deaths. In mythology and folklore throughout the globe, birds feature as symbols of war, wisdom, wealth, prosperity, death, rebirth, virtue, patience and protection. This variety of meanings make them ideal characters to carry mixed messages about equality, freedom of speech and environmental catastrophe – as they are often expressed by newspapers.

The exhibition will also feature a new series of ‘Relics’ artefacts made from rubbish collected between the gallery and Manchester Victoria station. Reminiscent of devotional artefacts such as totems, Janus figures, and votive candles, these Relics are not sacred objects that are preserved for centuries because they are culturally significant. They are relics of consumerism: our legacy for future generations. They also provide a sort of portrait of who inhabits the streets and how they use them.

Woolley is influenced by artworks throughout history including 17th century still life paintings, and works from the 19th and 20th centuries, some of which are included from the museum’s collections. Like Woolley’s artwork, 17th century still-life paintings are portraits of a consumer, described by the objects they own. In contrast, ‘Variation on Red’ by Marion Adnams and ‘Phenomenon I’ by Derek Greenhalgh both represent the body using objects. Similar to Woolley’s ‘Celebrate’ and ‘Lifecycle’ series’, these paintings represent bodies through objects in a way that makes the objects unfamiliar and strange.

On display in our North Gallery from 2 May to 30 August 2026.