- Venue
- Nottingham Trent University
- Location
- United Kingdom
With such a varied array of works and themes it is hard not to be in awe of the creativity and ingenuity that these budding new artists exhibit. Upon entering the BA (Hons) Fine Art exhibition you are first confronted by Self Inhibited, a work by Anna K. Stippa which in a very odd way is absolutely beautiful; from the construction, to the way in which it engages the space, making full use of the height of the room itself, to the way that over time the piece grows as the viewers spread the ‘dust’ throughout the exhibition space. Once past the awe of the scale of the piece one starts to read into it, the most obvious link being that of the stereotypical haunted house, almost expecting the cloth to move in the wind. Although obviously created from chairs wrapped in fabric there is something natural and organic about the piece, reminiscent of the Rainbow Bridge and other such natural arches, the illusion being broken once the support cables have been seen, this play with the notion of stability is extremely interesting because now the piece becomes almost a threatening looming structure held up by string and hooks. What once invited the viewer to walk around it now has a dangerous edge making the viewer retreat to the safety of smaller works near by but not without forcing them to take a small piece of the work with them to be involuntarily deposited around the space once again drawing on the naturalistic essence of erosion and displacement.
Not all of the exhibition consists of overbearing superstructures, some of the most interesting pieces are the quieter more tucked away installations. For Example Samuel Minton’s The Protagonist(s); a solitary piece with the aim of depicting loneliness. With instructions to enter one at a time the viewer waits their turn and then enters a room closing the door behind them, only to find oneself in a confined living room complete with kitsch flying ducks, mould and all the evidence of a solitary life. Somehow the sense of loneliness and solitude are imbedded in every object of the room, even though you know that everything was hand picked and placed by the artist, one starts to look to create the life of the inhabitant, the single glass of whisky finished and left on the side table, the clutter of someone with no apparent purpose, no main theme to the bookcase, no work left out, just the remnants of time passing. On leaving the room the viewer is once again in the exhibition space, almost anticlimactic and leaving one with so very many questions about the inhabitant of the room and their life. There is also a self reflective element to the piece, prompting the audience to look at their own life, the directions which they are headed and ultimately what their home says about them.
Every piece varies in quality and attractiveness but not one is lacking in spirit or drive, every piece gives something new, exciting and thought provoking, be it the pseudo-graffiti of Lucy Burden and Tom Duggan or the inconspicuous monologue of Rosie Hermon. To think that this exhibition encapsulates the crossover of the artists of tomorrow becoming the artists of today is breathtaking. So much talent is on display it is hard to think that there is anyone out there that would not find at least one piece to connect with.
