Mark your calendars for Saturday, 16th November, when “Rose is a Rose is a Rose” opens its doors for a special one-day event, coinciding with the Manchester Contemporary and Paradise Works’ Open Studios in Salford.
From 3 PM to 9 PM, Belinda Worsley will showcase her captivating postcard project, accompanied by works from Steven Calver, Angela Tait, and Jeffrey Knopf in his studio space.
The works in the Rose Project draw inspiration from Gertrude Stein’s famous line, “A rose is a rose is a rose,” a simplified form of the phrase from her 1913 poem Sacred Emily. Often interpreted as a reflection of the law of identity (“A is A”), the quote suggests that things are simply what they are. Stein believed that naming something evokes the emotions and imagery associated with it, an idea central to broader philosophical debates on universals—where thinkers like Peter Abelard used the rose to explore how language conveys meaning.
With my own work focused on the challenges of communication and the complexities of language, I created a couple of postcards reflecting these themes in connection to Stein’s quote. Be sure to look out for my text-based contributions amid the beautiful array of roses on display!
