‘The Preston Market Mystery Project’ by John Newling

Posted in Artworks, Featured, on 24 July 2008

November 2006 – June 2007

The Preston Market Mystery Project was developed through a series visits that artist John Newling made to Preston during 2006, in which he became intrigued with the city’s historic Covered Markets. In particular, he was interested in the activity of transaction and exchange which defines the markets; both the transaction of goods and the social exchange between the people who work and shop in the space. The project was developed to celebrate this exchange and to raise questions about the importance of the ‘unknown’ within a city, how mystery contributes to a sense of place and what this means in the context of regeneration.

The project prompted a re-evaluation of the Covered Markets and how they could be used, especially in the evenings when they remain empty, or are used as unofficial carparks.

The project consisted of three separate but interrelated events: The Insurance Stall, Voicing Mysteries and The Knowledge Meal. All events were filmed and a publication was produced about the project. This was given away free to people who had contributed mysteries during a public screening in the Covered Markets in July 2008.

The Insurance Stall: 21st – 23rd November 2006

The artist hired a stall in the Covered Market, from which he ‘sold’ specially designed certificates insuring against ‘loss of mystery’ in return for shoppers’ stories of mystery in their lives. Over a three day period he collected 280 mysteries, which included stories of lost objects, haunted houses and even possessed mobile phones!

Images of ‘The Insurance Stall’

Voicing Mysteries: 28th March 2007

This was a twilight performance, in which the artist stood in the middle of the the larger Covered Market and read the 280 collected mysteries aloud from a golden lectern.

The Knowledge Meal: 27th June 2007

From the 280 collected mysteries, John Newling selected thirty which he felt were the most intriguing and diverse. The individuals who had submitted these mysteries were then invited to a three course meal in the larger Covered Market.  As well as bringing together market users, the event also provided an unusual and interesting spectacle for passers-by, who could listen to some of the guests’ conversations through microphones placed on the table.

‘The Knowledge Meal’, Photographs by Alexandra Wolkowicz