- Senior Girls
- Admissions
- Key Information
- About us
- Contact Details
- Noticeboard
- Sixth Form
- Departments
- Extra Curricular Activities
- External Examinations
- Old Girls' Association
- Term Dates and Diary
- The Vitreum
- The Careers Service
- Merchants' Community
- Governors' Details
- The Harrison Groups
- Swimming Clubs
- GSA Press Releases
- School Health
Search Merchant Taylors'
2020vision Merchants Connected ArchivesLiverpool Life - September/October 2010
The‘Vitreum' is delighted to be taking part in this year's Independents Biennial, one of the largest and most exciting contemporary visual arts festivals in the UK. As the only school venue exhibiting alongside some of Liverpool's most iconic institutions, such as the Tate, both Cathedrals and the Bluecoat Arts Centre, the Vitreum Art Gallery is a truly unique space.
The Independents is an art event that showcases young blood and emerging new talent alongside established international artists and the mix of artists in the current Vitreum exhibition currently reflects this. Our Head Caretaker's hidden talents have long been a badly kept secret within the School community, however now Frank Meaney has had the opportunity, along with the rest of the staff and pupils, to exhibit together with two Liverpool photography legends: Jim Connolly and Colin Serjent.
Scroll down for information on each artist.
Frank Meaney
Brought up with the blood of Liverpool in my veins, from a hardworking family background in the heart of Liverpool, knowing from an early age that hard work was the only way to get anything in life.
At 16 I got my first snaps with a Polaroid camera borrowed from my sister with just 3 shots left. It was like magic to watch the picture appear before my eyes; right there it was...a picture of the camera strap right across the lens.
Ever since then I have learnt more about photography by taking photos of my first love in life the flowers and landscapes of England and here I am many years later with the realisation of digital photography and all its wonders. For the last 5 years I have begun to learn again, thankfully my keen interest in computers and technology has assisted me well in understanding the digital revolution taking panoramic shots of this city and beyond. Having seen Liverpool over my lifetime changing into an internationally known tourist destination for the whole world to see, how proud am I here today with people wanting to buy and commission my work which has become such a joy to me.
I hope you enjoy my views of Liverpool and beyond, if it just grabs your attention for a moment then it's all been worthwhile.
God bless
Frank Meaney
Colin Serjent - website
I specialise in abstract photography. My pictures contain, to varying degrees, a combination of many tones of colour, shapes and dense textures and patterns.
I was a late convert to digital photography and now use a Fujifilm S5 Pro camera with Nikon lenses.
My photographs included in this exhibition are a selection of non-digital and digital images.
Subjects
Among the subjects I use for my shots are weather-beaten doors; derelict buildings; weather ravaged natural objects such as tree bark, tree trunks and branches; trampled debris; various other decayed objects; natural habitats; and offbeat views of modern buildings.
Themes
The main themes of my abstract work incorporate naturalness, sense of time, sensuousness, colour relationships, decay and erosion, and silhouettes and shadows.
Exhibitions
I have shown my work in exhibitions, both home and abroad, in the past twelve years.
They include The AT Hun Gallery (Savannah, Georgia, USA); during the Liverpool Arts Biennial in 2002, 2006 & 2008; Liverpool Academy of Arts; Southport Arts Centre; Unity Theatre (Liverpool); Liverpool Centre for Arts Development; Almiro Gallery (Crosby); Jump Ship Rat Gallery (Liverpool); Contemporary Urban Centre (Liverpool); International Gallery (Liverpool); and the 08 Place in Liverpool.
They have been a mixture of solo shows and group exhibiitons with Liverpool-based artist collective Red Dot Exhibitions of which I am a director.
Jim Connolly website
Born in Liverpool a lifetime ago, first became interested in photography nearly forty years ago when the realisation struck him that no matter how hard he tried, he would always be a second rate painter. That would never do for him, so he looked for an alternative and one came in a most unexpected way. Whilst ill in hospital, he saw a photograph, taken by Snowdon, that changed his life.
After years of numerous seminars, photographic courses, tons of books, taking lots of pictures and also the pleasure of talking and listening to the best in the business he felt he had an instinctive feel for the medium.
Mostly specialising in portraiture, both studio and location, he has photographed, royalty, celebrities, military personnel, politicians, writers, artists, musicians, sportspeople, fashion, still life and everything in between.
