Open Eye Gallery — Attraction in Liverpool

I’m sat on the fence about this gallery space, every time I pass I still make the effort to go in. But I am always left disappointed by the work displayed. From my countless visits I’ve only been intrigued by a handful of works.

It seems to me the gallery curators are too heavily focused on this woke culture. Too busy looking at projecting some deep meaning, completely forgetting the importance of aesthetics in an image.

Personally I am always pulled closer to a work by its aesthetic value, only being heightened secondly by its meaning.

When I’m met by a deep important message, backed up by mediocre boring imagery, the message is fast forgotten and I’m walk right past. Most the time I’ve been greeted with powerful important messages, paired with these boring and plain photographs.

In my opinion and my opinion alone, they should find works that shout. Photographs that stand out and pop, powerful imagery first and meanings second. Not standard boring works overshadowed by a long “important” message.

Ive seen so many incredible young photographers who’s work would look amazing hung. But their meanings aren’t “deep” nor looking at “woke culture”, so I doubt they’re amazing imager would be considered for this beautiful space. A real shame.

Even if it’s a mix of the woke “important message stuff”, then a stand alone but beautiful image every now and again. It would give the place a more balanced and true feeling.

The book shop on the other hand is amazing! A real great variety of books from larger artists to smaller “unknowns”. It’s always a real delight to look through them.

The staff are also very friendly and helpful.

Just a shame about the...

I had a look around the Open Eye gallery. The staff were quite helpful and encouraging. I saw a video about people using bamboo to make some kind of exhibition. This drew my attention because one of the locations that they used was Wirral Country Park in Thursaston. I wasn’t sure about what they were trying to make or whether the message that they were advocating was a useful one. The group seemed to be suggesting that bamboo should be grown in the UK as it is a useful and sustainable material. However, I wasn’t quite convinced by this message. I was under the impression that bamboo could be invasive, like Japanese knotweed and the qualities that make it sustainable (fast to grow and strong) are precisely the qualities that could cause it to endanger the ecosystem. I wasn’t quite sure exactly what they were making in the video either and why it was a useful thing to do beyond a visual arts display. The group were melting plastic bottles which caused toxic fumes to be emitted into the air. I am an environmentalist myself (I don’t drive, I haven’t flown for well over 10 years), so I am always keen to hear about sustainable solutions but I wasn’t quite sold on the ideas presented in this video. There were some nice paintings in other parts of the gallery, but nothing in particular drew my attention. It was quite a small gallery in general. When I went to scan the QR code to leave feedback, this took me to a broken link. When I told the staff about this, they said that they would look into...

It's free! I love art and could look at it all day long. More than anything, I love works from international artists and really appreciate galleries that showcase these often overlooked areas. There's a whole world of artists out there and I want to see them all! If you're hoping to find lots of rooms filled to the brim with art then you'll be disappointed. The gallery is small, really small, but don't let that put you off because the work currently on display are stunning and it's def a quality and not quantity situation. The staff are ULTRA friendly/helpful and it also has a mini gift shop. Just pop in and...