Across the
five specialist schools at the Glasgow School Of Art Campus: School of Fine
Art, School of Design, Mackintosh School of Architecture, School of Innovation
and School of Simulation and Visualisation, GSA presents a new generation of
students at the Degree Show 2023, in what is one of Glasgow’s largest public
exhibitions of work from some of the world’s leading creative graduates.
Each of
the individual departments across the School provide an impressive glimpse into
the innovation, creativity and energy that this new generation of talented
artists will bring to the wider cultural economy and arts community. The political, cultural and personal themes
addressed in these students work intersect with many of the main themes which
run across the entire degree show this year, including gender and
representation, autobiography and the self; health and well being; landscape,
climate and ecology; social justice.
Here is a mere snap shot selection of some of the graduate works, giving
a sense of the variety and breadth of creative productivity on show to the
public at the physical show which will run till 11th June, and to the world
through the online graduate showcase at gsashowcase.net.
Product
design student Anna Kennedy has designed Power Mount an
automated, self-adjustable wheelchair headrest. The Power Mount headrest helps
those with muscle stiffness, involuntary movements or impaired speech to find
comfort by enabling them to adjust their ideal head position without the help
of a caregiver.
Michiel Turner is an artist with German heritage who
has grown up by the Morayshire coastline.
Working in the Sound for the Moving Image course Turner’s work is environmentally focused,
often exploring oceanic themes. HIs
short film Seaweed explores
consumption and the relationships between materials and organisms in nautical
environments. Via hallucinatory visuals,
the film investigates ecological equilibrium, a continually debated and
questioned topic integral to our current climate crisis. In an Anthropocene
where the natural world has been so immensely impacted by human intervention
Turner poses the provocative question; is there a utopian balance that can be
assumed or will the nano-plastics of the ocean become part of its living
evolution?
As part of
fifth year architectures ‘Ethical City’ conceptual brief, Rachel Crook’s audacious
project, Quarrying the Ruinscape… To bring the Palais to Justice
investigates the possibility of re-establishing a circular economy by
identifying obsolete buildings and recycling their materials. The main focus is
to dismantle the Palais De Justice in Brussels and utilise its resources and
architectural features in the construction of new buildings across the city.
Addressing
a physical site closer to home in Glasgow fourth year architecture student Oliver Simpson’s ‘Institute of Pollokshields’
interrogates the meaning and uses of public buildings. Simpson’s project seeks to re-imagine institutional
spaces by creating a new typology for town halls. Approaching their research from the
perspective of ‘Institutional Ethnography’, the study of how people interact with
institutions, Simpson seeks to create a centre for real-time culture that’s
constantly evolving, accessible and democratic. They hope to encourage wider participation
and make communal public space a more inviting and inclusive one for the
community.
Silversmithing & Jewellery Design graduate
Yulan Zou’s collection titled ‘Fantasy Incubus – Erotic Dreams’ saw her draw deep inspiration from
the colours and elements of her own erotic dreams. In these dreams, anything is
possible. The richly detailed pieces in her collection capture and illustrate
specific characters and objects from these dreams, combining them with Asian
erotic art culture and emphasising simple elements like tentacles, female
breasts and vaginas. Combining artistic techniques such as metal casting,
enamel, 3D printing, fabric design and bead embroidery, Zou creates a surreal
and intricate collection of thoughts and stories, bringing abstract concepts
and desires to life across her series of uniquely dreamlike pieces.
Part of
this years cohort of Master of Fine Arts Graduates, Lebanese artist Monya
Riachi’s practice is multidisciplinary and centres matter as a site of
meaning and embedded psychosocial archive. Working primarily in sculpture and
installation, her artworks address how narratives can be shaped, altered and
preserved through the migration of artefacts and histories. Drawn predominantly
to material at risk of loss or threat, her approach is rooted in Karen Barad’s theory of agential realism, where
matter is generative in bringing forth [new matter and] new worlds.
Sculpture
& Environmental Art student Amielle Bogarve’s exhibition titled Seven Portraits for Seven Musicians is a
multimedia installation which pays tribute to their queer family in music. She
has transformed seven of their most valued queer family members into unique ‘instruments’ – receptacles housing objects associated with
each person – which were then recorded without the performers knowing the
contents of their instruments. The
result is an emotive portrait of the queer community, exploring identity and
significance emerging from the communality of club spaces (Bogarve has been
active as a DJ, composer and musician in Glasgow for some years). Their work
consciously centres not only the importance of chosen familial relationships,
but also the significance that objects play in constructing our realities.
Product
Design student Margarida Sabino’s project, The Plan.o Experience, focuses
on creating a space that allows for easier access to contraception, using a
playful brand identity to reduce the stigma around it. It provides small contraception boxes,
accessible literature and trained clinicians in private space, as well as
through a travelling bus.
Fine Art
Photography student Alan Bell’s work is concerned with questioning
the existence and effect of public and private signs on human social behaviour.
Bell explores whether these signs aim to control space or shape individuals’
ways of living. His video interventions and public performances make use of
signs that may seem out of place in their surroundings to provoke thoughts and
conversations on surveillance and behaviour modification. The performances themselves
are accessible via public webcams and are part of a continued exploration of
surveillance and control – what is the
purpose of those signs, why they have been put there, and by whom? Were they put there by public (governmental)
or private individuals?. Bell believes the answers to these questions can tell
us a great deal about societal structures and our individual and collective
identities.
Textile
graduate Amy Robertson’s ‘Shetland Stories’ is a project that
captures memories shared with her family during their time spent together on
Shetland, expressed through vibrant colours and materials in knitted outcomes.
The project draws inspiration from family photographs, archives, conversations,
and physical objects that convey rich and meaningful stories. The selection of
deadstock and donated yarns is done through a thorough colour selection
process, while cords help to deepen the final fabric’s connection to primary
research imagery. The project is a tribute to Shetland, its people, places, activities,
and unforgettable memories.