COMMISSION
In Plain Sight? at the Manchester Medical School
The School of Medical Sciences EDI committee has commissioned Longhurst to draw attention to the services the University provides to support staff and students with unseen disabilities and chronic health conditions.
Stencilled graffiti of bindweed appears in three locations within the Stopford Building. Installed in three phases over six weeks, the artwork mirrors the plant's growth cycle, emphasising its organic and persistent nature. The QR code provides a link to a comprehensive directory of current support services and networks for students and staff.
By stencilling bindweed onto the walls of Manchester Medical School, Longhurst reclaims this ‘unwanted’ plant or ‘weed,’ transforming it into an alluring and captivating object. Bindweed thrives in overlooked spaces—gardens, edgelands, or urban environments—hidden in plain sight. This echoes the pervasive yet often invisible nature of hidden disabilities. Its resilience under adverse conditions mirrors the strength of individuals navigating unseen challenges, both of whom face stigma despite their tenacity.
ALT Text
Large-scale stencils are graffitied in three locations on the scuffed magnolia and grey walls of the University's Stopford building. On the first floor near Lecture Theatre 1 a pair of intertwined stems are graffitied on the far, dead-end wall. The graffiti can be seen at a distance from way down the opposite corridor.
On the ground floor, at the end of the corridor near student support, this pair appears again, slightly smaller in size and located on two different walls, straddling the corner at right angles. They are positioned so they can be seen when approaching from either direction. A final, slightly smaller again, single cluster of stems appears on the side of the main staircase near the Stopford building reception, opposite the glass windows which look out onto the grassy quadrangle.
Over six weeks this graffiti is added to: first the addition of leaves and buds, then flowers. In the final iteration, each cluster is accompanied by a QR code. The graffiti stands alone. There is no explanatory text.
There is a separate ALT Text description of the graffiti, titled In Plain Sight.