30 August 2025 – 8 February 2026
The paintings that make up ‘A Taste of Arcadia’ date from Post Covid to the present day. The exhibition aims to capture a ’Curious Restless Place’. This phrase was first coined by British dramatist Shelagh Delaney. Delaney’s 1958 play ‘A Taste of Honey’, based in her home town of Salford, was the inspiration for the name of this exhibition. The plat itself was adapted into an award winning film of the same title in 1961.
‘A Taste of Arcadia’ plays upon Shelagh Delaney’s title ‘A Taste of Honey’. The Artist depicts the same place, Salford, tapping into that ‘raw energy, vitality’ Shelagh Delaney spoke of. An energy which is still present in Salford despite the many changes to the city since the play was written, which sees a more complex and diverse ‘Salford’ emerge into 2025.
The handful of lives the Artist depicts in these paintings play out against Salford’s different landscapes, whether that be the Wetlands, Edgelands, or areas where folk flourish within their individual cultural traditions. That same ‘raw energy and vitality’ of Salford that Shelagh Delaney speaks of in the BBC documentary with British Film Director Ken Russell in 1960 still exists today and Michelle depicts it here, in this exhibition of her paintings . These paintings often show figures on the threshold of potential change, whether adulthood or the taking on of responsibility. Though a very different Salford that is depicted in ’A Taste of Honey’ some of those themes that relate to Salford being a ‘curious restless place’ are still in evidence, today. In the intervening years, parts of Salford no longer exist, and new areas have emerged replacing the old. Yet despite the constant state of change, one can still feel the same qualities that Shelagh Delaney witnessed and which the Artist again depicts in these paintings.
These paintings celebrate the clash of life and cultures. The old and new as still evident in the City of Salford today, and in Michelle’s paintings. Within this melting pot, each individual seeks their own personal ‘Arcadia’, their ‘taste of honey’. Since Shelagh Delaney wrote the play, Salford has seen huge changes, both demographically and visually. However, Michelle’s work continues to depict the ‘curious restlessness’ in the inhabitants of Salford the writer speaks of. Shelagh Delaney talks of Salford celebrating minorities living amongst British people in her home town; of everyone living alongside each other, and this cross section of paintings homes in on the vitality of such cultural diversity.
Shelagh Delaney’s words from 1958 still hold weight despite the many changes since then. Both the Writer and the Artist depict Salford in a positive light, one that is life affirming. Leigh taps into this’ huge vitality’ that is Salford. This ‘ curious restless place isn’t only alive, it’s restless, the whole place is alive’, an expression that is still as contemporary and relevant as it was when spoken of more than half a century ago.
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