IT ‘S called Ups and Downs but Matt and Maria Carroll’s new exhibition, at Salford Art Gallery until next June, is distinctly positive. Whilst the subject of Down’s has caused controversy of late, with a BBC documentary condemning NHS screenings that detect the syndrome during pregnancy, Maria Carroll’s liberating brush strokes and earthy tones radiate only warmth and comfort.
We have a very similar style and approach to the way we apply the paint. Maria has always shown great artistic flair
The Carrolls are cousins of Happy Mondays’ Shaun and Paul Ryder. As design firm Central Station's co-founder, Matt designed all the band’s covers - alongside those of the subsequent rock band Black Grape - including iconic sleeves including Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches and It’s Great When You’re Straight...Yeah. More recently, the agency produced 25 portraits of Corrie actors to celebrate the iconic soap’s 50th anniversary.
The influence of Central Station design on the Madchester music milieu is indicated by its first exhibition, Hello Playmates, in 1990 at Manchester Art Gallery. New Order’s Bernard Sumner collaborated with Johnny Marr on a soundtrack for the show, while those in attendance included Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and Reni from The Stone Roses. Mick Jagger and David Bowie even arranged a private viewing.
Gallery owner Richard Goodall notes that ‘Central Station's work is widely accepted as amongst the most influential; they inspired a generation of artists, designers and music fans and helped define the infamous Madchester era’. Anthony H Wilson echoes his sentiment: "The second half of the Factory story is best summed up by the painterly eccentricity of Central Station."
Salford Art Gallery
Ups and Downs detailBut, despite his successful career, Matt Carroll isn’t the only creative one in the family. Sister Maria, 54 - one of whose paintings appears on The Happy Mondays Yes Please album cover - has Down's Syndrome and has lived with Matt since their parents died within a few months of each other in 2011. Having grown up in a large family, with eight siblings and an artistic ‘larger-than-life’ upbringing, she has always been very expressive; and painting has now become a cathartic process in coping with the loss of her parents.
“She was born at a time when people with Down’s Syndrome were considered uneducable” said her brother. “They were misunderstood and often ridiculed. But Maria became the life force within the family, a beacon for good and a unique character - her big smile much-loved and respected in her community.
“We have a very similar style and approach to the way we apply the paint. Maria has always shown great artistic flair over the years, making cards for family members’ birthdays”.
The psychedelic expressionist style of Central Station is reflected in the pair’s collaboration; consisting of 22 observations made up of 198 gouache paintings and prints, arranged into a series of vivid grids. Drawn from their shared experience, a number of the pieces take inspiration from flowers in the Carroll household. Matt buys flowers every week in memory of their parents and his late sister Mag for the home he shares with Maria in Little Hulton, Salford. The paintings began as drawings by Maria on her iPad, and she and Matt used these as a source to paint together.
The Carroll siblings’ interest in art began in childhood when their Dad would take them on family trips to Salford Museum and Art Gallery. Matt recalls: “A large Lowry print occupied a central position in the house and stirred the imagination of us all, so it’s a real honour to be able to show our work at the gallery. In fact, Mum and Dad grew up and met in the area around the gallery and it’s where dad got his library books as a lad, so it’s amazing that Maria and I are exhibiting there.”
“The project proved very therapeutic, helping Maria and I to come to terms with the deaths of our parents and forge a positive path together. We hope these paintings will inspire others and offer the wider community an insight into the wonderful ideas and unique view of the world people like Maria have.”
Ups and Downs is free to visit and will be at Salford Art Gallery from 1 October to 4 June 2017
