P5 Gallery Exhibiting Artist Interview – Kev Salisbury
Friday 4 to Saturday 26 July 2025 saw a joint exhibition in Bolton Station’s P5 Gallery titled ‘Collective Unconsciousness’, showcasing the work of local artists and University of Greater Manchester Fine Art graduates Kev Salisbury and Susan Wild.
The varied nature of the exhibition meant that visitors could appreciate a range of artistic forms, including textiles, sculpture and painting. Susan’s work evokes depth and texture, with multi-media collages creating a striking impact, often in contemplation of the natural world and human impact upon it. Kev’s work spans a great variety, often using familiar materials in unfamiliar ways, inviting the viewer to consider a different perspective as well as spiritual and philosophical themes.
Kev spoke to South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership’s Part-time Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield about his involvement in the exhibition and the creative community making an impact in the area.
“I was proud to have my work on display in the P5 Gallery,” he says. “It’s fine to be part of an exhibition in university but having one of your own – or in this case a joint one with Sue – is a great feeling. And this being my first outside university was a little more special. For me, it was like being accepted as an artist in my own right. And it is such a wonderful place to show your work.
“It’s been such a privilege to share the exhibition with Sue too, I really admire her work and every time I look at it, I see something different. She had an exhibition at Hive’s Community Gallery late last year, and it’s been so interesting to go on to display our work together in another space. I think it works well and means that viewers can contemplate some of the connecting themes from multiple perspectives.”
Since 2019, the P5 Gallery has provided a space for artists and poets to display their work and connect with the highly varied audience passing through a working train station, occupying the site of the former Platform 5 General Waiting Room. Thousands of people have passed through in the years since, giving artists a valuable opportunity to share their work.
“I really enjoyed connecting with the members of the public who had time to look at both mine and Sue’s work – and in particular, those who wanted to have a conversation about it,” says Kev.
“A certain amount of people said they didn’t realise there was an art gallery on the platform, and thought it was a great idea. Having this access to art, especially artists from in and around Bolton helps gives this sense of community especially to visitors from outside the area. It’s Bolton’s hidden gem!”
Kev’s journey as an artist could be considered an inspiration to many. Last year he graduated aged 66 from the University of Greater Manchester with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art, with the path there being far from easy.
“I came to study art late in my life, and it was a series of events which took me there,” he reflects.
“Around seven years ago I had low esteem which turned into depression. I eventually was referred to a charity based in Salford called Start. They use various art mediums to help with mental health, everything from painting and drawing, photography, textiles, woodwork…you get the idea. They even had a group learning to play the drums! I chose painting and drawing as it was something I have been interested in since school. Now I wish I took up art earlier, but I think schools in the seventies were a different proposition then, and I think discouraged the arts. But better late than never, I guess.
“You are allowed to be at Start for 12 months, and then you must make way for others… but you can go back as a volunteer, which is what I wanted to do. This is where my journey began. I wanted to learn more about art, especially being in the volunteer role, and thought it would help. I applied to Pendleton College for an art course, but because my grades were that old, had to redo my GCSEs in Maths and English. I reapplied the following year, and it was suggested to me to do the Access to Higher Education diploma in Professions in Art. While doing this I was offered a place at the University of Greater Manchester to do my BA in Fine Art. I was sixty-three then.”
Kev went on to study and graduate, making a variety of connections along the way. He also now has a studio space at neo:artists studio in Bolton.
“It just proves that you’re never too old to achieve something in your life,” he adds. “And I hope I can encourage someone, no matter your age, that you can go on to do something extraordinary. I took the study route, and expanded on my creativity from there, but education is not for everyone. If you want to find your creativity look for local groups, there are plenty out there.
“I have to say, I feel incredibly lucky. I won two awards at university, one was a residency at neo studios here in Bolton where I am now based, and the other was an artist’s development-ship and mentoring with Hive. I am also so grateful to all the people I have met and made friends with over these past few years. Certainly, I feel like I am part of this community now, and it’s a very special thing.”
Kev’s work has been shaped by this community and his artistic journey within it, as well as philosophical and personal themes. Within the ‘Collective Unconsciousness’ exhibition, a work of significant attention was his Chronicle, strikingly presented along the back wall of the gallery space. It is a large canvas featuring a series of marks, somewhat like a tally.
“Each mark represents a day of my life,” he comments.
“The red numerals, which are Chinese, represent each of my birthdays. It reads left to right, right to left and going downwards, I like to think of as a meandering river. This shows the way language perceives time in various cultures. The marks themselves change colour from black to blue, the blue being the most recent of my memories starting from seven years ago, the gold the period when I was coming to the end of my time in university and graduation. And presently is in green, representing the way I feel now. There are still some things in my life which are not perfect, but with everything that has and is going on – neo, the exhibition and of course all the friendships I have made – it feels like a separate, other life which I feel happy and content with.
“This work began life in the final year of university and eventually became the focal point of my contribution to our Degree Show. All the pieces I created for the show were a representation of time, how language and culture affect our view of time and leaving a trace or mark of a particular moment either in the landscape or in time.”
Kev’s contemplation of philosophical and spiritual themes like this has significantly influenced the form of his art. He describes a lengthy ‘learning process’ informing the work, with his output shaped by ideas he has been exploring and books he has been reading, the thinking process impacting the creative process. The use of materials also matters.
“The materials I use tend to be what is on hand and making that connection with my thoughts and the material,” he comments.
“I like to describe myself as a multimedia artist, and like experimenting using different mediums. Take, for example, I Dream of Wires, a canvas onto which I pushed wires from an ethernet cable. The wires formed the shape of a brain, with the ethernet cable hanging down like the spinal cord. The inspiration for this was people saying how their brains were wired differently. It also could be an analogy for A.I.”
I Dream of Wires was on display within the ‘Collective Unconsciousness’ exhibition, along with a number of pieces composed from CDs.
“I had used the silver layer from these CDs for a couple of other pieces,” Kev adds. “The idea being that the silver layer holds information, like we hold memories. And as time passes these memories become lost or fade, as I like to say fragmented. I didn’t want to throw away the discs, so I experimented with them. I found by heating the plastic I could manipulate the melting plastic into interesting shapes, which reminded me of parts of an alien landscape or something organic.
“I also like the idea about creating artwork by recycling materials, and prior to the exhibition and since it, friends have been giving me old CDs and DVDs, so have plenty material to work with now. Hopefully it will lead to some new artwork, based on the themes of time and memories – something that connects all of us.”
To follow Kev’s work and connect with him, he can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kevlinart/
