The degree show is over. All of the stress, effort and heartache to have spaces complete, work ready to show and the various set up tasks behind the show are now a distant memory. However, the show itself is a strange phenomenon. We build it up into a major event, the culmination of our last three years (in the main, longer for those who have been studying for a PT BA), yet it passes by quickly and seems something of an anticlimax. Am I alone in feeling this way? Upon arrival (early) there was a sense of confusion as nobody seemed entirely sure what was expected and indeed what was meant to be happening. This confusion dissipated by 630pm, halfway through the 3 opening hours of the show, when visitors were at a maximum and discussions of the work presented were in full flow. However, with no formal opening, no comment from faculty staff whatsoever and a lack of any kind of formality at the event, it was a decidedly understated affair. Our building is not the easiest to negotiate and by necessity the work was split into five separate areas, none of which lead naturally into each other. For the adventurous viewer, this can be an exciting challenge of the orienteering variety, if only to negotiate the somewhat confusing (yet accurate) building map. It can also lead to frustration in those who expect a show to follow a more linear path. Thought must be spared for the poor almost graduates who have to direct such frustrated creatures towards the work they seek. Abandon patience and courtesy all ye who are annoyed by building layout!!
The work itself seemed to invite comment and provoke responses. I feel an odd combination of pride and guilt that my installation managed to cause a spate of vomiting in one particularly sensitive vistor…. It certainly seemed to be a work which caused visitors to form strong opinions. It is causing me a few headaches to ensure it is up and running all week though – I can’t help wishing in some respects my work for the show was 2D, or at the very least static and did not require two visits daily – particularly as my clutch cable snapped on the way home last night necessitating a two hour wait on a deserted road for a recovery vehicle and a rather uninspiring game of I-Spy for one in the wee small hours……
