David McLeavy: Funhaus @ Toast, Manchester, until 6 May

Interactivity is at the centre of Funhaus, a solo project from Sheffield-based artist David McLeavy at Toast, Manchester – his first in the city. From the project’s production to how visitors engage with it as an artwork, Funhaus feels more like a situation than an exhibition and McLeavy said that his time at Toast felt more like a residency than a straight install, with collaborative engagement at its core. Rather than having the Toast team and student helpers working towards his vision, McLeavy wanted them to have an active input in how Funhaus evolved.

Filling the large space at Toast with an Activity World-style assault course, Funhaus is a playground for the art vanguard of Manchester. You can lounge in the foam pit or make your way through the wood and net to the red, yellow and blue balloons – colours synonymous with Mondrian and the Bauhaus movement. The structures alone do not function as art objects but exist as devices for an overall observation of interaction within a constructed space.

McLeavy’s selected colour palette is not an indicator of complex art historical reference but instead seems to be his way of saying ‘This is art, but don’t just stand there looking at it.’ This tongue in cheek way of engaging people with his projects highlights the absurdity of human interactions in certain environments.

At the beginning of the preview evening, only a brave few crawled through McLeavy’s structure, most clinging to the sides of the room, or at the bar. The most popular site became the bleachers. Unpainted and facing out towards the rest of Funhaus, the bleachers became a spot for those who wanted to observe rather than interact; they became audience for the evening’s entertainment. Showing least fear was a young boy who threw himself unashamedly into the balloons, smiling from ear to ear. His youth and ‘art innocence’ allowed him to interact with Funhaus without even considering it as an artwork. For him, it was just fun. That night, Funhaus enabled a loosening of inhibitions, but only after careful consideration about how silly you looked just standing there watching. [Ali Gunn]