Image: David Batchelor, Found Monochromes of London (Mayfair 04.05.99), 1997-2003
Courtesy the artist and Wilkinson Gallery, London

Urban environments may be built by man but the way in which they grow, evolve and adapt to change emerges in a more organic way. Like the people who inhabit them, cities are continually on the move: shifting in pace, size and purpose in order to respond to the needs of society. Our lives are knitted in to the fabric of a city and so the artists in this exhibition unpick these threads and sow new points of reference, mapping and marking out the moments when a city takes on a life of its own.

Within the exhibition, existing maps have been obscured, emphasised or obliterated to the point of incomprehension; our spatial awareness is instead, quantified through our memories of a place, rather than its true physical nature. Some artists re-trace their steps though familiar territory, whilst others remain on the periphery, observing a city with fresh eyes as they travel from place to place. The homogenous nature of urban centres provides inspiration to some, whereas the random chance of fleeting encounters provides the starting point for others. Our city streets are lined with tales of our past and the artists in Shifting Ground embrace this rich history as they contemplate the future.

Before Angel Row Gallery’s doors close to the public, some of the exhibits escape and spill out on to the city’s streets. These subtle interventions open up avenues of endless possibility and renovation, pointing towards the creativity that lies on the horizon as Nottingham’s cultural landscape shifts.