- Venue
- Nottingham Trent
- Location
Showcasing the delights of 3rd year students, the Nottingham Trent Fine Art Degree Show cumulates what these young artists have been carefully rearing for three years and what a show it is!
Loucia Serghiou’s artwork is a prime example of what can be achieved through studying at the university but also what can be accomplished through a fully thought out and realized concept. Her striking piece is an assemblance of light bulbs teeming with life. When your first greeted with the piece the seductively constructed wall structures seem to grow around you, having an almost biomorphic quality that is then reiterated when closer inspection is applied to what inhabits each light bulb. Containing either tuffs of vibrant green grass, fragile shells resting in water or a small quantity of mealworms these light bulbs are brought to life through this added ingredient of nature. Loucia shows a particular sensitivity to the space in which her piece dwells. This is clear by her appliance of these structures to not only the walls but the ceiling and steps leading up to her installation.
In complete contrast Katie Jones’ piece Hounds Gate, 23rd March 2009, 9am- 1pm gave me an unsettling feeling in my already temperamental stomach. The work entails a collection of inconspicuously taken photographs displaying members of the public. The photos are grouped together by what each depicted individual is wearing; denim jeans being inevitably one of the most common. Unfortunately this piece suffers through presentation, leading to a lack in contextualization. Each sheet is attached to the wall with four over bearing bulky pins, which distract any attention away from the work itself. The location is another hindrance but also brings a slight glimmer of hope. Through every three grouped photos being cruelly separated by other students’ work the division stops the viewer from being truly engaged in the piece. The only spin on this location is that it over looks the bottom exhibition space, which means you’re able to apply what Katie has shown us to the people walking below.
Although thoroughly enjoyable and inspirational I feel the exhibition is let down by placement choices. Many pieces have been thrown together that work against each other, for example Anna Stippa’s towering Self Inhibited shadows Lotti Closs’ curious Octoscope #1. Lotti’s piece feels as though it has been shunned to the corner, which is a shame since her mirrored sculpture has such intricate detailing. Nevertheless, a most thrilling exhibition that caters to all tastes.
