Talented graduates returning for final showcase
The very best creative and directional work from recent Nottingham Trent University graduates is to feature as part of Making The Future 2010 from September 16 to October 15. The exhibition, on show across three gallery spaces at the university, will include a diverse range of work from talented undergraduates and postgraduates from the School of Art and Design and School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.
Individual projects span fine and decorative arts, fashion, knitwear and textiles, graphic design, photography and multimedia, design for theatre, film and television, and product, furniture and architectural design. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is another chance to see some of the work from the impressive art and design degree shows in June. It is being staged across the university’s Bonington Gallery, Bonington Atrium and Waverley 1851 Gallery.
Fashion knitwear design student Phoebe Thirlwall will be showing her final year collection which was inspired by the skin and flesh of the human body. The ‘Cutaneous’ collection, which includes dresses, playsuit, jumper, skirt, t-shirt and vest, are knitted mostly in silk and bamboo, with an elastic yarn which was used to create the patterns.
Fine artist, Lucienne Simpson, is exhibiting a range of her ‘polaroid paintings’, a selection of miniature highly detailed images translated from camera to canvas. Lucienne paints photographically, with focused and unfocused areas, attempting to create a convincing depth of field. At first glance, viewers could be misled into thinking what they see is photography, but a closer inspection reveals the truth as ordinary snapshots are infused with atmosphere through painting.
The stunning photography of Terry Graham, in which light is used not to illuminate landscapes, but to create them, will also be on show. In Terry’s series of images the limited use of light within the landscape dislocates the image of the usual pictorial elements and isolates the subject in a void of darkness, which becomes the overarching feature of the work.
Architecture student Aaron Marriott, meanwhile, will present the design for his Grace Dieu Library, an educational facility which focuses on alchemic literature, and takes its structure from the values of alchemy. And product designer Matthew Simmonds-Buckley’s universal remote control (URC) system, Spoke, enables home devices to be brought under a single interface system, providing a link between them and the user’s mobile phone.
Ning-Ning Cheng, who studied an MA in graphic design, will show her sustainable home furniture brand which is dedicated to reducing the impact on the environment without compromising on style. Her work is an attempt to inspire an eco-friendly living style for both retailers and consumers.
The Dean of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design, Professor Judith Mottram, said: “This exhibition gives us a wonderful opportunity to review some of the exciting work produced by our students in the last academic year, to inspire our new students and to celebrate the contribution our subjects make to culture and the environment we live in.
“Many of the exhibitors and their colleagues have had successful exhibitions in London and elsewhere since graduation, and many have already found employment or have progressed to further study in their chosen fields, indicating the recognition given to their work by employers, clients and others.”
Peter Westland, the Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, added: “Once again students have produced an exciting array of creative work to an exceptional standard of which we are fittingly proud. The individual projects on show will demonstrate the continued high level of work by students and provide visitors with an ideal opportunity to see the next big names in the built and designed environment."
