Solitude in the City

What's your idea of hell? Getting stuck in a lift on your own? Being marooned on a desert island without human contact, or your favourite records and books? The idea of a life of lengthy isolation from the rest of the world - does not appeal to me.

But, others see the world a little differently. And difference is what makes the world go around.

Artist Ansuman Biswas has won the right to spend forty days in solitude at the Manchester Museum. The Calcutta born artist's spell 'in solitary' will begin on June 27 and end on August 5. He will not be entirely cut off from the real world, Mr Biswas will be blogging about his experiences via The Manchester Hermit's Blog.

Mr Biswas will be cocooned in a Gothic Tower within the Museum, which is part of the University of Manchester. Isolation is nothing new to Mr Biswas; he has previously being a living exhibit in a museum display in London. For that role at the South London Gallery, Mr Biswas went without food for ten days and 'lived in' a confined space.

Back in May, he told the BBC that: "Being at top of the this gothic tower is much the same way the brain is at the top of a spinal chord. The nature of loss, the cultural memory, I want to question what is important to us and how do we show that we value it?"

His exploits do have a hint of the David Blaine about them. They are attention grabbing and, some might argue, utterly pointless. Whatever you or I think, Mr Biswas has a platform (his blog) and he intends to use it to debate the merits of items and artifacts selected (before his seclusion) from the Museum's 4.5 million strong collection In the words of the Museum of Manchester's website: "He will be opening up a wider debate about why museums collect and preserve objects, whilst allowing species and cultures to become forgotten and extinct."

When he is 'released' from captivity, Mr Biswas will want to stretch his legs. He met want to take the opportunity to go walk about in Manchester. His home in the Museum was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the architect who designed Manchester Town Hall and the Central Library. Both destinations feature in the Manchester: Then & Now audio downloadable tour. To hear an audio sample from the tour please click here.

Independent mined travellers - like Cornelius (pictured above), the only ornament in my garden - can hire the Manchester: Then & Now tour from the city's Visitor Information Centre, on Lloyd Street, just off St Peter's Square on a preloaded MP3 player. Cost: £6 per MP3 player plus a £10 refundable deposit. Earphones (not the kind Cornelius is wearing) and tour plan provided.