Jaytheauthor, also known as Jay-Khan Ventress, has left around 200 heart-felt letters around Manchester in an artistic project he has called “Portrait of Manchester”.
He told Mancunian Matters of the differences between the responses from Manchester and those from elsewhere in the UK.
“Manchester is such a homely place where you are welcomed with open arms and I really feel that from the kind of responses I get on Instagram from the people of Manchester.
“Also, Manchester City Council got in touch with me saying how much they appreciate the letters and supported me by posting about my letters on their Instagram. This was such a surprise as I expected them not to like it.
“It’s such a noticeably different response from somewhere like London, for example, where my letters got taken down due to the street art mafia, an underground society that polices London street art.
“This was a surprise because I always use Sellotape so as to be ecologically friendly, so it couldn’t have been taken down for ecological reasons.”
Jay started posting these messages in Melbourne during the initial lockdown, where he was at a low point in his life due to unemployment and wanted to leave a message that he would like to have received.
He did this by leaving the message, walking away from it, then walking back towards it as though it was from someone else.
The hit song People Are Strange by The Doors was also an influence on his letters, as the lyric ‘faces look ugly when you’re alone’ really resonated with him and he consequently wanted faces to look ‘less ugly’ by making people feel less alone.
The overall message of the letters ranges from themes of loneliness and isolation to anxiety and chasing your dreams. The aim is to make people feel less alone.
When in the UK, he usually lives in Manchester where he works as a camera operator for the BBC and ITV.
He said: “I am currently doing a European tour and I have noticed that Manchester is the one UK city similar to Europe in its culture and in how friendly the people are.”
Jay will be returning to Manchester in two weeks and will be posting more letters, which he usually tailors to the specific city.
