Every year I like head over to Grays School of Art and spend a bit of time walking around and taking in the degree show. I think the degree show is the start of something new as apposed to the ending of something as students emerge from their bubble, soon to be confronted by the struggle of being a practicing artist. But this years show proved to be another stand out year for Grays and showed a healthy variety of work and styles from the much lauded painting department to the fashion & textiles cohorts. Admittedly my own biases lean more towards painting and contemporary art practice but its always worthwhile to check out each department to get an overview of where the school is at and perhaps a hint to where its headed!
With every degree show I find work that resonates or pulls my attention and it's great to see the creative journey of the new grads. Certainly seeing the work by Kristina Aburrow & Neil Kellas filled me with pride, both artists who have become friends in recent years and have continually engaged with the creative community in Aberdeen, organising workshops and numerous pop up exhibitions. Also Indie McCue and Verna Meg, both instagram friends provided immersive experiences as we took up Indies computer game challenge which added some wry humour to the everyday problems faced by friends in the trans / non binary community. And Verna Meg left me standing for about 10 minutes as I tried to figure out if she was sitting in the corner of her show, complete with her distinctive green wig or if it was a dummy. I'm still not sure. Alexander Campbell also put on a great show with his reassembled shopping trolleys taking centre stage in the old sculpture hall which hosted a lot of really interesting works.
I had a really great chat with Meg Miller about her work and the use of dung to create new objects along with her plans for island based artist residencies and how to keep the creative fires alive after art school. It was great to hear directly from the artist about her work and to get that deeper understanding of the process and rituals involved. Although it was probably quite far into the week for many of the students I still think its important to be on hand for the week and to engage with your audience. It was interesting to walk into spaces with barely an acknowledgement, perhaps students were feeling the mental exhaustion of degree show week. But the conversations and direct engagement can really add to the viewers experience of your work. At the very least have a creepy effigy like Verna to represent you!
But in all seriousness, 2019 proved to be another fantastic year for both the new and emerging artists and the more established creative's who returned to academia. Seeing work that makes you think, laugh and cringe is always good along with work that baffles, makes you wonder and amuses. The full spectrum of reactions was achieved this year and the show provided a lot of highlights both from friends and artist's I've just discovered. I did my best to capture as much of the work as possible which I can't match up to names as I didn't steal a catalogue this year but I'd just like to say well done to all the 2019 graduates, keep pushing your work whether painting, design or sculpture, keep exploring and be proud that you survived 3 years at Grays. But the real work starts now!
With every degree show I find work that resonates or pulls my attention and it's great to see the creative journey of the new grads. Certainly seeing the work by Kristina Aburrow & Neil Kellas filled me with pride, both artists who have become friends in recent years and have continually engaged with the creative community in Aberdeen, organising workshops and numerous pop up exhibitions. Also Indie McCue and Verna Meg, both instagram friends provided immersive experiences as we took up Indies computer game challenge which added some wry humour to the everyday problems faced by friends in the trans / non binary community. And Verna Meg left me standing for about 10 minutes as I tried to figure out if she was sitting in the corner of her show, complete with her distinctive green wig or if it was a dummy. I'm still not sure. Alexander Campbell also put on a great show with his reassembled shopping trolleys taking centre stage in the old sculpture hall which hosted a lot of really interesting works.
I had a really great chat with Meg Miller about her work and the use of dung to create new objects along with her plans for island based artist residencies and how to keep the creative fires alive after art school. It was great to hear directly from the artist about her work and to get that deeper understanding of the process and rituals involved. Although it was probably quite far into the week for many of the students I still think its important to be on hand for the week and to engage with your audience. It was interesting to walk into spaces with barely an acknowledgement, perhaps students were feeling the mental exhaustion of degree show week. But the conversations and direct engagement can really add to the viewers experience of your work. At the very least have a creepy effigy like Verna to represent you!
But in all seriousness, 2019 proved to be another fantastic year for both the new and emerging artists and the more established creative's who returned to academia. Seeing work that makes you think, laugh and cringe is always good along with work that baffles, makes you wonder and amuses. The full spectrum of reactions was achieved this year and the show provided a lot of highlights both from friends and artist's I've just discovered. I did my best to capture as much of the work as possible which I can't match up to names as I didn't steal a catalogue this year but I'd just like to say well done to all the 2019 graduates, keep pushing your work whether painting, design or sculpture, keep exploring and be proud that you survived 3 years at Grays. But the real work starts now!
