The Whitworth’s Visitor Team got out and about for a spot of culture across Manchester’s other cultural institutions during the spring months. Today we hear from Adam, Lucy, Urussa and Debra as they tell us about some of their favourite objects at the institutions they visited. Why not see these fascinating pieces in person?

Silver and gilt tea set, Manchester Art Gallery??

This tea set was owned by Mr William Royle, who campaigned to secure Platt Fields as a public park for the people of Manchester in 1910. I chose this this object because The Whitworth Gallery is of course within its own park and Platts Field park is our neighbouring park, roughly a kilometre down the road. The Manchester Corporation, an early version of Manchester City Council, took on a thousand-year lease on the land that would become the Whitworth Park in 1904. The same Manchester Corporation purchased Platt Fields Park 6 years later securing it for the public to enjoy. William Royle published a text called ‘History of Rusholme- Being a Gossipy Talk of Men & things‘, which I find an intriguing title for what is essentially a history of Rusholme. Perhaps he was a gossip, maybe he sat at home drinking tea from this posh tea set gossiping about his fellow Rusholme residents. Probably not, but it is nice to imagine it.

The story goes that the then owners of the Platt Fields country park, the Worsleys, sold the land to a private owner. William Royle heard that the front section of the park was going to be converted into shops. Upon learning this, William wrote a letter to the press titled ‘A Pathetic Appeal‘ and urged the gentlemen who had bought the land to come and visit him and talk it out. William managed to talk the man into re-selling the land. Mr. Royle then flooded Rushholme with leaflets and requested that a town meeting be held to discuss the fate of the park. Subsequently, thanks to Mr William Royle’s campaigning, the Manchester Corporation scheduled a meeting and were convinced to purchase the park for public use. – Adam

Ukulele, Imperial War Museum North

There was an item which really spoke to me in the Imperial War Museum; a worn-out looking ukulele displayed behind a panel of glass. It may have looked a bit on the battered side and a little unusual in its design- but I loved the character it possessed. More importantly, the story behind this musical instrument is a fascinating one. It was made by Thomas Boardman from Leigh in Lancashire, who was serving in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps when he was captured by Japanese forces during the invasion of Singapore in February 1942. He was sent to Changi prison camp, where he was stripped of all his possessions. Despite the bleak conditions, the lack of food, no communication from home and poor hygiene conditions in the camp, Boardman was intent on keeping everyone’s spirits up. He fashioned the ukulele from materials he found in the camp, which he then used to entertain his fellow prisoners by playing popular songs. It’s such a touching story and I love Boardman’s resourcefulness and his generosity, made even more poignant considering the challenging circumstances he found himself in. I think it’s a great reminder of the two very contrasting sides of human nature. – Lucy

Glass Apple, Science and Industry Museum

A glass apple made from crystal, painted in dots of red, yellow and green. This was a part of Stephen Hawking’s personal office. The colouring on the apple represents the cosmic microwave background radiation and the apple’s a nod to Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. As outlined on the Science Media Group website, this apple is , ‘a gift from researchers at Intel a nod to Hawking’s position as Lucasian Professor at Cambridge, a post formerly held by Sir Isaac Newton, that has been painted to evoke the cosmic microwave background, which contains what Hawking called the ‘fingerprints of creation.’

It was a small ornament with contrasting textures of the smooth clear apple with defined dots of paints. Highly symbolic meanings, which can seem almost abstract. If you didn’t know about the significance of the apple or colours to the scientific community, it would just look like an apple.

Now this object belongs to the Science Museum group, given in lieu of tax inheritance by the Hawking Foundation. I think it’s great way for wealth to be distributed, as assets are given for public consumption. – Urussa

Photograph of the Haenyeo Monument taken by Jane Jin Kaisen, esea Contemporary

The monument commemorates the anti-colonial resistance movement in Korea, which was a female-led resistance movement and the largest uprising during the colonial period by those in the fishing industry from the island of Jeju.

The photograph was one of several objects that accompany the exhibition ‘Halmang’ by artist Jane Kin Kaisen.

In the photograph, there is a monument which features three of the women divers of Jeju. These divers are known as ‘Haenyeo’ or ‘sea women’ and represent great strength and resilience through their freediving abilities. The Haenyeo women led a resistance movement between 1931 and 1932, where 17,000 women took part in meetings and protests to protect their way of life and resist the social changes brought about by the Japanese occupation. Many suffered torture by the Japanese authorities because they protested the occupation. Recent evaluation of this history recognises the movement as an independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20^th century.

Jeju island is the largest island in South Korea and is regarded as a semi-matriarchal society because of the family structure where women are the main breadwinners; women as old as 80 free dive up to 20m down into the waters to harvest seafood for trade and to provide for their families. The women are free divers because they have the skill and knowledge to dive without oxygen masks. They use an ancient breathing technique which gives them the ability to hold their breath for up to 2 minutes underwater; this knowledge has been passed on through many generations since the 17^th  century, when it became an exclusive activity of women.

They are quick and agile in the water, diving for many hours a day- which requires great physical endurance, and they harvest the shellfish responsibly and sustainably so that they are not over harvested. This ensures that the shellfish will be there for future generations of Jeju families. However, this tradition is under threat because local marine eco systems have been affected by the warming of the seas caused by climate change. Younger generations are reluctant to engage in such dangerous work, so it has been mainly left to the older generations of women to keep this heritage alive. This unique heritage was made into a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2016. – Debra