The Peeps : Ancoats: the Presence of Absence

A book of photographs, interviews and commentary, recording the origins, recent past and current regeneration of the Ancoats area of Manchester -- .

Ancoats, in Manchester, was once unimaginably different. One of the world's earliest industrial suburbs, it was dark and dense, noisy, frenetic, violent and unhealthy. It was also vibrant and creative. It had a striking vapour, sound and feel. The area today has undergone a striking regeneration. New streets, pavements and civic spaces have been laid down. A series of installations, known as The Peeps, have been created for the area. Built into the fabric of the buildings, the brass peep holes offer a fleeting glimpse of a walled-in space, a tunnel, a disused toilet, a bell tower, a gauge. Dan Dubowitz, given the title of 'cultural masterplanner', records through photographs, interviews, commentary and contemporaneous texts, the recent past and the current regeneration of the suburb. It is a fascinating, beautifully illustrated and designed volume that eloquently depicts the common narrative of industrialisation, slow decay and rebirth. -- .