Who Are We? Who am I?
25th July – 9th August
Preview 25th July 7pm
AirSpace celebrates its second birthday with an exhibition of work from graduating students from Loughborough and Staffordshire University.
At this time of year graduating students are asking themselves who, where and what they are; deciding what to do after education and searching for their entry into the world. A new generation of lawyers, journalists and artists are born.
Surrounding them at this time of change are bigger changes; Stoke on Trent is undergoing a massive regeneration, looking to move forward to find a new beginning and future. And within that AirSpace is trying to establish as a permanent gallery, bringing national and international artists to the city; widening AirSpace’s and the City’s audiences. These new beginnings are happening all around us and as the world evolves it is easy to find yourself asking similar questions; who, where and what am I?
The changes that we see lead us through doubt and excitement to a re evaluation of our place as individuals and groups in society. The artists in ‘Who are we? Who am I?’ all graduated from Fine Art courses this year, they each delve deep into their own concerns with this evaluation; some look to the past for reassurance and comfort and others take the future by the horns ready to run with it with eagerness and excitement.
Wendy Mayer’s work is an exploration of the ageing process using surreal self portraits to describe her thoughts.
Kate Lynch’s work is a site specific installation, highlighting the history of the gallery space and evoking thoughts of the redevelopment of Stoke on Trent.
Graffiti Artist Jack Tierney questions the identity of the artist and how they are perceived through their anonymous work.
Helen Saunders’ work sees the effects of the desires for change within a mechanical world.
Matt Smith puts the viewer in his own work, questioning the viewer’s relationship to himself.
Who Are We? Who am I? Consists of artists from Staffordshire University and Loughborough University, they include Kate Lynch, Wendy Mayer, Jack Tierney, Helen Saunders, and Matt Smith.
The opening of ‘Who are we? Who am I?’ sees a dual celebration; the introduction of five Fine Art graduates to the world of Post Education and the 2nd Birthday of the AirSpace Gallery.
For the celebrations we will be showing examples of past exhibitions, sharing cakes and we hope that by giving graduates from different universities the chance to exhibit together we will help to forge relationships and introduce artists from outside of the city to what Stoke on Trent has to offer.
For more information visit: www.airspacegallery.org or contact [email protected] 01782 261221.
