Recognition for photography student

Marinos Thoma, 23, was named winner of the 2010 Coventry Open award.

Marinos, from Cyprus, is in the third year of a BA (Hons) Degree in Photography at the University’s School of Art & Design.

The competition and exhibition was open to artists in the West Midlands and Warwickshire working in any medium, including painting, drawing, print, sculpture, textiles, photography and film.

The award comes with a prize of £1,000 and Marinos’s work will be on display in the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry. A number of other University students and graduates were also selected to be in the exhibition at the gallery which runs until June 13.

Work for the exhibition was selected by a panel of judges which included artist John Keane, fine art and photography course leader at the University of Wolverhampton, Su Fahy, and exhibitions officer at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Karen MacKinnon.

Marinos said: "I feel very proud of myself and the fact that all the hard work I put into this competition has been recognised. I am very pleased and thankful that I was given such opportunity to take part in the 2010 Coventry Open. I owe lots to my teachers for all the guidance and help they have given to me throughout my course at the University of Wolverhampton and generally in my studies.

“I will use the money I earned to bring to life one of my lifetime dreams - I plan to visit Africa and capture the emotions of people and the wild beauty the continent has to offer.”

Su Fahy, from the School of Art & Design, said: “I am pleased that one of our undergraduate students has won the Coventry Open, as there was a strong field of competition from established and emerging artists in the region.

“Marinos' work is very evocative of a sense of place, trace and memory which will offer visitors to the exhibition an opportunity to explore their own thoughts and narratives around his theme of abandonment and memory in this work.”

For further details about the exhibition, visit http://www.theherbert.org/index.php/home/whats-on/coventry-open-2010

ENDS

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