Cast your minds back to 2015: NASA found water on Mars, Sepp Blatter finally stepped down from FIFA and Game of Thrones was still mint.
Oh yeah, and some bloke went around Greater Manchester turning potholes into penises.
For anyone who doesn’t remember this absolute renegade of the art world, ‘Wanksy‘ was a graffiti artist who came to prominence in 2015 and into the mid-late 2010s and his MO was pretty simple: find potholes and turn them into penis drawings.
Sometimes the simplest forms of comedy are the best.
Credit: Wanksy (via Facebook)
The construction worker and surveyor turned professional artist went viral for his series of admittedly childish and simple drawings that resembled the kind of thing you’d see in a secondary school kid’s exercise book – only these were bigger and smack bang in the middle of the road.
But who says all art has to be high art? Even graffiti artists like Banksy himself would probably shrug off such a snooty label. His Manc counterpart got stick at the time, with many calling it nothing more than crude vandalism exposing young eyes to inappropriate imagery, there was actually a point to his work.
Speaking to the MEN back then, the mystery man said that “the roads of Manchester [were] in an appalling state, especially around Bury“, insisting that they were so bad that some of his cyclist friends were even hospitalised.
Noting that they were a risk to cyclists and damaging cars left, right and centre in his hometown of Ramsbottom and further afield, he claims his purpose was “to attract attention to the pothole and make it memorable, adding that “nothing seemed to do this better than a giant comedy phallus.”
He wasn’t lying about the condition of the roads (2015)He quickly managed to get himself in the papers
It certainly got the attention he was hoping for.
As it happens, it would seem he is still up to his cheeky antics even now. The best part is that since the Facebook profile was set up as a community fan page, theoretically, anybody could have sent them in and posed as the man, the myth, the legend himself. He might never be caught.
Moreover, these quick spray jobs were all done with non-permanent paint, essentially rendering them about as close to vandalism as a child’s sketching with chalk on the pavement outside their house. The perfect crime (if you could even call it one).
Nevertheless, Wanksy acknowledges the naughty nature of his pastime, saying that part of its charm is that it’s “speedy”, confessing that he doesn’t want to spend too long on the road in case he gets caught.
He keeps things creative.
However, his message was as clear then as it is now: “I just want to make people smile and draw attention to the problem.” Better still, his humourous albeit unorthodox methods continue to get results to this day.
As the years have gone by, Manchester’s roads and wider infrastructure have continued to improve and as exampled by numerous victories he has shared on social media.
As he told Bloomberg back in 2015, despite there being a rather futile ‘Fix My Street’ page designated for different regions across the UK, he found success and did so quicker by taking matters into his own hands. If you want a job done, do it yourself and all that.
So, if you’re one of those people who have always questioned what impact art can make in the world, think again.
Still, if you’d rather see some of his namesake’s work instead, a massive exhibition including one of his rarest works arrived in 0161 this month.
Castlefield Viaduct ‘sky park’ receives £2.75m funding towards major extension
Emily Sergeant
The National Trust has today announced an exciting development in the transformation of Manchester’s Castlefield Viaduct.
The New York-inspired elevated urban park on the giant Grade II-listed Victorian viaduct in the heart of the city centre officially opened to the public back in July 2022, and has been an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life ever since… but now, it’s time for the next phase of the journey, and a significant proportion of the funding needed for this project has been secured.
National Highway’s Historical Railways Estate Team, working in partnership with the National Trust has committed £2.4 million to fund a significant part of the structural and foundation work for ‘Phase 2’ of the project.
The funding will go towards increasing the scale of the current ‘sky park’ experience and turning it into a nature-rich through route, including the addition of The WaterAid Garden – a gold medal-winning garden from last year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Other supporters and funders are now being urged to donate to cover the remaining amount needed to ‘green up’ the extension.
As it stands, current visitors to the viaduct can walk through a series of spaces and gardens before coming to an untouched and overgrown section of the structure beyond a glass wall, and it’s this untouched section where the Phase 2 transformation will take place to extend the viaduct experience for visitors from 150-metres to more than 350-metres.
The current state of the site at Castlefield Viaduct that’s set to be transformed as part of Phase 2 / Credit: Paul Harris (via National Trust)
Plans include winding paths through planted areas to encourage people to take time out from the busy city below and connect with nature.
A second entry and exit point will also be added to the west side of Mancunian Way via a lift and stairway, turning it into a through route for the very-first time, and making it more accessible for people with limited mobility.
A longer-term masterplan could see the viaduct join up to other areas of the city, increasing access towards Salford and Trafford, and taking the benefits way beyond the physical structure of the viaduct in Castlefield.
The CGIs of how the space on the viaduct will look once it has been transformed / Credit: Twelve Architects (via National Trust)
“This funding is brilliant news for Castlefield – a hugely inspiring project to bring nature and green space to communities across Manchester,” commented Hilary McGrady, who is the Director-General of the National Trust.
“Its popularity over the past few years demonstrates how residents and visitors to the city value access to the outdoors and experiencing nature up-close in an innovative industrial heritage setting.
“This is something we want to continue and do more and more of in the years to come, and that is why this funding is so important.
“Our aim over the next 10 years is to ensure more people have access to nature particularly in our towns and cities, and to bring nature to people’s doorsteps wherever they live.”
Featured Image – Paul Harris (via National Trust)
Art & Culture
Levi’s are the latest fashion brand to launch an Oasis collection
Danny Jones
In case you missed it amid the tidal wave of merch currently flooding our feeds and shops everywhere, global fashion brand Levi’s has become the latest label to launch an Oasis collection.
With the Live ’25 world tour now officially underway, it feels like not only are Oasis back on top, but that there’s a large-scale Britpop revival happening here in the UK and overseas.
In terms of fashion, the 1990s and early 2000s style has been steadily making its way into contemporary culture once again in recent years, but with seemingly every big name trying to hop on the marketing machine that is the Oasis reunion bandwagon, you can’t move for crossover.
Be they official collaborations like the one with Manchester City, adidas Originals; American fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch bashing out merch, or a local t-shirt maker on Bury Market, that famous logo is absolutely everywhere – cue Levi’s latest launch:
Releasing just five or five main pieces (not including individual item variations), Levi’s Oasis gear has been kept pretty straightforward, simply relying on a less is more philosophy and the quality that the denim specialists are renowned for.
Nevertheless, there is an undeniably 90s feel to the approach.
As well as the standard Oasis band tee design, available in the brand’s main red, white and blue colour, as well as black, white and light blue – the Manchester City influences never stray too far, after all – there are a couple of other types of tee.
However, while we’re sure plenty of people might have a penchant for the parka, the undeniable star of the show for us is the Type II Trucker Jacket with the group’s name and ‘Live Forever’ stitched on the breast pocket.
Still, at £170, these sure-to-be collectors’ items don’t come cheap, and that’s not even the most expensive in the Levi’s x Oasis collection. Regardless, if you fancy treating yourself, you can find them here in Manchester and at the likes of The Trafford Centre.
Any of it pique your interest?
Don’t worry if not because, as mentioned, there is absolutely tonnes of Oasis clobber at various different price points all over the place at the minute.
Danny Jones -
18th October 2022 
