Commissioned Installation, Manchester, 2021
Haunt Bar Commission: A Site-Specific Mirrored Installation for a Manchester Wine Bar
In July 2021, Haunt, a coffee, wine and aperitivo bar on Peter Street in central Manchester, commissioned this piece directly, ahead of the bar’s launch. Built from a patterned fabric panel and a cluster of laser-cut mirrored acrylic forms, the installation is designed to shift under the room’s lighting rather than sit as a static image on the wall.
The Brief
Haunt approached me directly, ahead of opening on Peter Street in central Manchester, a coffee, wine and aperitivo bar close to St Peter’s Square and Manchester Central. They wanted a piece to anchor a specific wall in the bar: a nook beside the staircase, below the mezzanine seating gallery, next to a small two-seat table.
There was no brief beyond that location and a general sense of wanting a considered piece rather than decoration, which left the concept, materials and form open.
The Design
Rather than reference the bar’s name or theme directly, I designed the piece around optical effect. The background is a repeating black-and-white pattern of nested squares, a motif drawn from Op Art rather than from anything specific to Haunt, printed onto fabric and stretched over a padded panel.
At the centre, a symmetrical cluster of raised forms breaks from the flat pattern: seven faceted, mirrored blocks arranged into a rosette, each cut with angled faces that catch light differently depending on where you stand.
The intention was for the piece to change through the day and evening rather than read the same way twice, a still object built to behave like a moving one under the bar’s lighting.
The Build
The mirrored forms were laser-cut in mirrored acrylic by an external fabricator, to my design and specification, then assembled and mounted proud of the fabric panel in a single symmetrical cluster.
The panel itself was upholstered, the printed geometric pattern stretched and padded over a board, giving the piece a soft, wall-hung presence rather than a hard, framed one, and letting the mirrored forms read as objects breaking through a surface rather than sitting on top of a print.
The whole piece was designed, fabricated and installed in time for the bar’s launch in July 2021.
In Use
The piece is still installed at Haunt today, in the same spot beside the staircase, lit by a single picture light that catches the mirrored facets and shifts across them as people move past.
It’s a commission that’s led to further work: similar site-specific pieces for hospitality interiors have followed directly from it.
Commission a Similar Project
If you’re fitting out a bar, restaurant or other interior and want a piece built specifically for a wall, a stairwell or an awkward corner, rather than something bought off the shelf, this is exactly the kind of commission I take on.
Get in touch about a project like this →
Questions
What is the Haunt Bar Commission?
The Haunt Bar Commission is a site-specific wall installation made for Haunt, a coffee, wine and aperitivo bar on Peter Street in central Manchester, completed in July 2021 ahead of the bar’s launch.
Where is Haunt?
Haunt is on Peter Street in central Manchester, close to St Peter’s Square and Manchester Central.
What is the piece made from?
An upholstered fabric panel printed with a black-and-white optical pattern, with a central cluster of laser-cut mirrored acrylic forms mounted proud of the surface.
Is the pattern based on a specific reference?
No. The background pattern and the mirrored cluster are a purely abstract, optical composition, designed around how the piece catches and shifts under the bar’s lighting rather than around a specific theme.
Is the piece still on display?
Yes, it remains installed at Haunt today, in the nook beside the staircase it was made for.
Can Mark create a similar site-specific piece for another venue?
Yes. This commission has led directly to further site-specific installations for hospitality interiors, and it’s a type of project he continues to take on.
From the Journal
Made and Installed
Dated entries behind the Haunt commission, from cutting the mirrored panel to seeing it up on the wall.
Selected Work