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Students show degrees of success at end of year art exhibition

09/06/2016

Students show degrees of success at end of year art exhibition

Students from the University of Wolverhampton’s Faculty of Arts are all set to showcase the work they’ve created during their degree studies – and it’s sure to be a draw for local people, schools, colleges and businesses.

The Faculty of Arts Degree Show 2016 will open its doors to family and friends with a Private View sponsored by Banks’s and then will be open to the public from Saturday 11th June until Thursday 23rd June. The exhibition will be on display at the Wolverhampton School of Art, The George Wallis Building, Molineux Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1DT.

This year, artwork from over 300 undergraduate students across 16 Bachelor of Arts Honours (BA) and Bachelor of Design Honours (BDes) courses will be on display, covering applied arts, digital media, fashion and textiles, fine art, graphic communication, illustration, interior design, photography and product design.

The School has exhibited over 8,000 students' work since opening its doors at the first degree show in 1969, and has featured some of the brightest new artists and designers in the country. 

    

Sam Hope, Head of the Wolverhampton School of Art, said:  “Our celebratory end of year show is a chance for students to experience first-hand what it’s like to create their own display in a gallery environment. Not only have they crafted and developed ideas, they also learn what kind of work goes into organising and creating a professional exhibition.

“Once again our students have shown outstanding levels of creativity during the course of their studies. They have created some fantastic pieces of work across a variety of disciplines which I’m sure will be enjoyed by everyone who takes the time to come along and view the work.”

Maggie Ayliffe, Acting Head of Visual Arts at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Students have again excelled in their studies and have worked hard to produce one of the most exciting shows to date.

“Our annual Art Show will challenge people’s perceptions of art and will provide something for everyone with work represented by a wide range of artistic disciplines.”

Entry is free and open to everyone on weekdays from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm and on Saturdays from 11.00 am until 4.00 pm.  The exhibition will be closed on Sundays.

Some of the student work on display

Finding the Measure of Interior Design

Amanda Yeomans from Coventry started to study Fashion & Textiles because she thought she wanted to design wedding dresses. With a Fine Art and Photography background, she thought that studying Fashion & Textiles would lead her to explore fashion in more detail but she preferred the hands-on approach of interior design.

 

She said:  “I found that I was more and more drawn to textiles and love the fact that you can immerse yourself in trying to find the perfect measure and methods.  I focused on creating wallpaper and soft furnishings which, although can be quite stressful, is extremely fulfilling.”

 

Field of Dreams

Melissa Brookes from Wolverhampton has green fingers – but not the kind of green fingers you might expect from a Fine Art Degree student. Her flourishing art work has seen her quite literally cultivate a living environment to plant seeds of contemplation in people’s minds.

She said:  “My work is art interacting with what’s going on in the world, focusing on care, attention and nurturing. I wanted to colour outside the lines and decided to go green with my work reflecting concerns about the environment, animal welfare and sustainability.”

 

Designer Ahead of the Competition

Nick Forrester from Penkridge in Stafford has designs on a career in design development.  In the final year of his Product Design degree, Nick is already miles ahead of the competition having won Gold in the Alexander Rose UK Outdoor Design Awards. He has also recently entered The Rookies Industrial Design Award.

He said: “I have enthusiasm for realistic designs, as well as a passion for creating contextual visuals for my designs.

“For the Alexander Rose Gold Award I designed a piece of interchangeable outdoor furniture with a static framework and for The Rookies competition I created a Foreman wristwatch inspired by an old industrial site where I used to play.”

Alexander Rose is a high-quality garden furniture manufacturer and The Rookies is an International Awards for young designers, creators, innovators, and artists judged by industry leaders. 

Nick is looking to move into the product visualisation industry or furniture design industry, with the potential of seeing his designs being manufactured.

His major new design project – an outdoor modular solution for a small garden - will be unveiled at the Art Degree Show.

 

An Illuminating View

Debra Arrow from Wednesfield found that studying has offered her an illuminating view of art. Having painted landscapes for years with an office based career, her studies have thrown new light on abstract and contemporary art.  Instead of using brushes and a canvas, Debra looked to create an illusion inside a space, building something that looked real but wasn’t.

She said:  “I wanted to create a big piece of work that is both dynamic and that captivates the imagination.  My work has grown from painting traditional landscapes into creating a physical landscape of a different kind.”

 Get an enlightened view of Debra’s vision at the forthcoming Art Degree Show.

 

Floored by Craftmanship

Alice Mundon from Wolverhampton realised that her initial desire to design wedding dresses was quickly floored when she unravelled the strands of textiles on her course.  Studying Fashion & Textiles, Alice was drawn to the development and techniques of the design and manufacture of floor coverings and began to create rugs.

She said:  “The process is quite simple but really effective and seemed much more interesting, with much more variety, than designing clothes.

“I make rugs the traditional way.  They are hand-tufted and in my work I explored the craftsmanship that goes into creating rugs, concentrating on individual design techniques which hopefully will lead me to an internship in London.”

 

Creating a Sense of Place in Space

Ruth Smith from Stourbridge took her inspiration from a visit to a museum where she was captivated by an array of anthropological items on display.  She wanted to re-create a post-colonial space where carefully chosen items could be placed and manipulated.

She said:  “Objects are very powerful and have a presence all of their own. My aim through my work was to toy with the value of objects, focusing on the way things are arranged and placed in space.”

 

ENDS

For more information please contact the Media Relations Office on 01902 322003/322736

Date Issued: 9th June 2016

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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