On the 15th June 1996, the IRA detonated a 3000lb bomb in the centre of Manchester. Through no fault of their own, they failed to kill anyone, or even to destroy the Arndale Centre. Ten years and some months after the explosion, Mr Monkey went to have a look at a small commemorative installation, Every Cloud: Ten Years After the Manchester Bomb, on the top floor of Urbis.
After climbing up to Level 4, Mr Monkey studied the installation Every Cloud.
Made by Manchester schoolchildren with 80,000 pieces of paper, the installation represents the immense cloud of dust thrown up by the explosion, positioned over an emormous aerial photograph of the centre of Manchester in the days after the explosion.
Every so often a light flashed in the middle of the cloud, and fans rustled every bit of paper.
When he'd looked at the cloud for long enough, Mr Monkey went over to read about the bomb, and look at the picture of the real cloud of dust.
Then he went into a darkened booth to see a compilation of TV footage and interviews about the bomb.
Afterwards, Mr Monkey wondered if every cloud really does have a silver lining, and left.
You can read about the exhibition at the Urbis website.
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Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 15 December 2006