Quiet light

16.05.25-28.06.25

at the modernist
58 Port Street, Manchester M1 2EQ
open 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday

Such opportunities were scarce, of course. In the end, Christmas Day turned out to be the only time I could pursue my goal. Yet the wait in between required patience—a lot of it. To my surprise, I managed the wait, but the rain hovering above the city drove me back home two years in a row. Three years yielded only a few frames of the Central Library and its surroundings.

Then, the pandemic arrived. It was a window of a lifetime—I had the city to myself. I photographed as much as I could, often standing in the middle of the road. That was epic.

But later, I felt something was missing in the work, though I didn’t know what.

Fast forward to 2022—the idea grew stronger with age, clarity in life, maybe a touch of maturity too. I delved into the city’s history, especially the transformation period that catapulted society into the modern day, progress imprinted in the new dawn of architecture—modernism. I found what was missing: a theme, a focus, a cohesion of work with meaning.

At the same time, my professional career was growing from strength to strength. I was becoming more discerning about my craft, which led me to revisit past buildings, trying out different views at different times.

The paths crossed early one morning, before dawn, when I set up a tripod in front of Renold Building. No one around—a delivery truck—the rest was eerie quietness. I had the city to myself again.

That idea blossomed.

The fruition is due to hit the bookshelves in 2025, published by the modernist .

Until then, here is a small selection from nearly 100 buildings I photographed on film at dawn.

Gunner Gu

Quiet light - the book, published by the modernist, June 2025.