Rocketships and Windmills

Polished T, 50 Parr Street
11th November - 24th December 2005

Reviewed by Kenn Taylor

Apparently inspired by a hungover trip to Southport, Liverpool photographer Mark McNulty spent the next few years travelling the length and breadth of Britain capturing images of that peculiar holiday distraction: the crazy golf course. ‘Rocketships and Windmills’ is on display in Polished T’s new gallery, which carries-on their tradition of opening art spaces in abandoned buildings.

McNulty’s pictures adorn the walls while the gallery has had its own personal course designed and made, which can be played on by visitors to the space for £1.50 a round. This course however pales into insignificance compared to some that he has documented - from the sun kissed and palm tree lined to the dank, decaying, and overgrown. Holes containing everything from giant heads, frogs and chess pieces to rocket ships and beet tankards. An odd pastime with its own unique architecture is now preserved for the nation.