Work by over 250 students across 21 programmes showcased
Students have responded creatively to the challenges posed by Coronavirus
Projects range from a training App to prevent misuse of PPE and design engineering solutions to medical conditions, to work highlighting the importance of dissent in democracy, dealing with isolation in lock down, sustainability challenges, hidden homelessness and other issues facing society.
Students will be able to add to their profiles for 12 months
The GSA has committed to support physical presentations when this becomes possible
The Glasgow School of Art launched Postgraduate Showcase 2020 with a digital platform today, 19 August 2020. Featuring work by over 250 students graduating from 21 1-year taught Masters programmes, the showcase demonstrates the creativity and innovation for which GSA students are famed not only in their practice, but in the way that they have responded to the challenges thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is my pleasure to unveil the GSA’s creative response to mounting a physical degree show during the current pandemic,” says Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art. “We believe that creative education and practice, and innovation are needed now more than ever to address the major challenges facing society.”
“Our digital platform, enables us to share work of our hugely talented postgraduate students at this important moment in their careers and at such a pivotal point in history.”
“We understand and value the significance of the physical public exhibition, and its importance to the individual practitioner and their audience,” she adds. “Once we are able to move beyond social distancing, we will support our graduates to develop physical exhibitions and presentations that showcase their work.”
Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy student, Eve Gibbons, unveiled a training App for use of PPE which visualises the spread of pathogens. Working with experts in 3D visualisation at the GSA and Dr David Fitzpatrick, a Stirling University academic with over 20 years-experience on the front line as a paramedic, Eve has developed an approach to raise awareness about unconscious behaviours that can potentially trigger contaminations between individuals and their environment, something which is especially important in the context of the Coronavirus.
“I was inspired to undertake this project by the statistics around the misuse of PPE,” explains Eve, a Biology graduate who was attracted to study for an MSc in Medical Visualisation & Human Anatomy by an interest in harnessing new technologies to support medical practice. “Violations in protocol usually occur through subconscious mistakes such as adjusting the face mask with unclean hands and gloves.”
‘They are much more frequent than you would expectand coupled with the invisible aspect of contamination, it’s easy to forget thateven the smallest of actions can have a big impact.”
“In the current context of global pandemic, it is crucial to find ways to raise awareness about unconscious behaviours in order to promote behavioural changes among healthcare workers and the public,” saysDr. Matthieu Poyade of GSA SimVis “As mobile devices are nowadays widely owned interfaces able to render complex animated graphics, there is an opportunity to create new informative channels of communication across the society.”
“Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the use of additional personal protective equipment (PPE) was relatively infrequent in pre-hospital care. As the pandemic evolved, training and education on PPE was enhanced for ambulance clinicians, however, we know that breaches in the application and use of PPE can still occur,” says Dr David Fitzpatrick of the University of Stirling. “This pilot study aimed to identify the common areas where infection control breaches involving PPE occur. With further development, this approach could support and improve ambulance clinicians’ knowledge and understanding and, in turn, lead to changes in behaviours and actions.
“A lot of people don’t know about ASL and only start to learn if a member of the family needs to use it. Hand tracking in gaming offers a unique new experience which to my knowledge has yet to be applied to education.”
Christian O’Brien
Elsewhere in the School of Simulation and Visualisation Christian O’Brien, a student on the Serious Games and VR programme, has created a digital game as a tool for teaching Finger Spelling in American Sign Language (ASL). A self-confessed VR enthusiast Christian started playing with hand tracking when he obtained an Oculus headset and began to wonder whether it could be used as a teaching mechanism. Harnessing the potential of hand-tracking as an education tool Christian created a ASL Fingerspelling – a game that teaches a player the ASL alphabet.
This project was a prototype exploring how the video game medium could be utilised to reach wider audiences and spark conversation about the dubious acquisition practices of early Western explorers. Agnes Kener
Archaeology and History of Art graduate,Agnes Kener,is interested in theuse of storytelling techniques to communicate research and historical narratives about heritage to a wide public. Harnessing the potential of narrative in video games she has created, The Library Cave Opens, a short video game-like experience about Hungarian-British explorer and archaeologist Aurel Stein’s stay at the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas near Dunhuang, China. Here, in 1900 a Daoist monk, Wang Yuanlu, discovered a sealed cave containing tens of thousands of manuscripts, paintings and secular documents dating from before the 11th century. The find comprises one of the most important discoveries for Chinese scholarship and today forms the basis of an entire field, Dunhuang Studies. Kener’s interactive experience tells the story of how Stein, with the help of his Chinese assistant, Jiang Xiaowan, convinced Wang Yuanlu to part with 29 cases of artefacts which were subsequently deposited in the British Museum.
INNOVATION SCHOOL
Civic participation is what drives democracies. But our system of governance values quiet, dutiful civic actions such as voting, volunteering, lobbying much more than critical actions such as dissent or protest. The latter are often met with ire and force while the former is hailed as a sacred duty.
Mugdha Patil
In the context of the BML movement, Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine trust in major institutions and the voting process, the outrage caused by the approach adopted to the award of Highers and A level grades, and as the people of Belarus take to the streets Mugdha Patil’s The Future of Dissentis a timely reminder that it is civic participation that drives democracies. “Citizenship for me means having a sense of belonging to a society. Design can help bring that about,” says Mugdha. The overall aim of her project is to identify how citizens perceive their duty of participation in government, especially in terms of dissent. “My focus is especially on the process of collective legacy-making, trust in institutions, and different approaches to critical civic participation, in times of protest and social change.”
As part of the project, Mugdha asked people to fill in postcards marked Dear Democracy and Dear Protester, which seek to start conversations and promote solidarity among people.
Elswhere in Innovation School Zain Zulfiqar Alihas looked at Hidden Homelessness. Journey to my Home! is a one-stop solution for anyone experiencing homelessness or is at the risk of eviction, by creating a personalized journey to get housing and providing information on all the existing support structures while signposting them to the most compatible organization for their needs. It enables people to navigate through their homelessness and gives them the agency to change their circumstances.Carolina Moyano Izquirdo has addressed Violence Against Women by creating a service for prevention of toxic masculinity, manhood and violence against women and Imanina Hamzah has explored the state of undemocratic media in the UK looking at how alternative, citizen-owned media might give a voice to the under- and mis-represented groups in society.
SCHOOL OF DESIGN
In the School of Design students across Communication Design, Interior Design, Fashion and Textile Design and Product Design Engineering (PDE) are showcasing work.
Diabetes is a global epidemic affecting 463 million people worldwide in 2019. This number is projected to rise to 700 million by 2045. Controlling blood sugar is critical for managing the progression of diabetes and mitigating health complications.
Kathryn Wopat
Working with people currently managing both Type I and Type II diabetes, Product Design Engineering student, Kathryn Wopat, (a graduate of MIT), has created AM-I, a wearable that continuously tracks the user’s blood glucose and heart rate variability. It uses the latest developments in continuous glucose monitoring and optical heart rate sensing to track the user’s biometrics. AM-I checks blood glucose and heart rate every 5 minutes throughout the day for 24/7 tracking synced directly to the user’s smartphone.
“Fashion, as an industry, must become more sustainable and I have attempted throughout the generation of this collection to make choices which have the least detrimental effects to our environment”
Kieran Flaherty
Fashion Design student, Kieran Flaherty, who was one of the first of the GSA Associate Students, has developed a practice that explores traditional textile techniques and contemporary production methodologies with influences including designers such as Iris Van Herpen, Alexander McQueen and Issey Miyake. His current collection, ‘Transient Bodies’, is inspired by the theme of transience. It began with research into the online model Imma.Gram – a virtual being who is a combination of a physical person and digital superimposition along with the graphic work of Bridget Riley and kinetic sculptures developed by Nick Cave. The resulting collection showcases the development of the ‘living hinge’ method of fabric manipulation which Kieran has developed. He has used laser cutting techniques to apply a complex series of pattern explorations create flexible materials that distort the figure and mislead the eye as they are worn, adapting to the wearers movement.
“I found a way to make work and in my own way confront the challenges of this global pandemic.”
Jiayi Cai
Jiayi Cai, had studied fashion design and garment engineering in China before coming to the GSA to undertake an MDes in Graphics, Illustration and Photography. Having returned to Guandong following the closure of the GSA campus she found herself living in isolation for many months. “For photographers stuck inside, especially for photographers interested in fashion, like me, this was a big problem in that, I would have to completely reframe my practice. I did not have anyone to collaborate with, no models, makeup artists or stylists. I needed to find a way to make work and find a way to use myself as a model and the subject of my photographs.” Her approach was to explore self-portraiture using her body with domestic objects as props, appendages and decoration to express her inner struggle with self-isolation, social distancing and the wider world of lockdown. “I found a way to embrace my fears, anxiety and loneliness and absorb the psychological pressure and position it within my image making. I played with themes associated with barriers, distance separation, and behind the masks and veils I found a way to make work and in my own way confront the challenges of this global pandemic.”
The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to rethink the politics of health
in a broader sense.
Peng (Hardy) Wong
Interior Design student Hardy Wong has addressed a key issue emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic – the extent to which people are willing to sacrifice individual freedom for public health.
Taking the totalitarian society portrayed in the film 1984, Hardy has envisioned four ministries, which embody a post-pandemic landscape and its social ideology. Through the four ministries the project has speculated an ‘alternative world’, in which people sacrifice individual freedom to public health, and consequently live in a permanent state of fear and insecurity.
Ministry of Love: where people gather showing their appreciation to the party. The televised programme, Daily Briefing, keeps update news about COVID-19.
Due to the lockdown, the supply chain has been disrupted. People are only allowed to obtain their ‘fake’ food and drink from theMinistry of Plentythrough the tiny window once in a day.
In theMinistry of Truthfollowing the extreme ‘social-distancing rule’, physical contact should be terminated in the workplace. with interaction and collaboration discouraged
As there is neither vaccine nor cure, people with symptoms of COVID-19 are isolated in theMinistry of Peace.
Elsewhere in Interior Design Palestinian architect Majida Khanfar has investigated the role of Middle Eastern residential guest space during this lockdown, whilst Sile Li has considered a post Covid future for retail based on three concepts: touch free, sound led and fully automated.
SCHOOL OF FINE ART
Faced with the challenges of closed venues, students on the MLitt in Curatorial Practice progamme explored different ways to curate work, supporting artists as they find new ways to develop their practice against the backdrop of Covid-19, and engaging with contemporary issues such as isolation and black identity.
Carol Dunn NOWYOUSEEUS
I hope [through the project] to educate wider publics on the historical facts of Afro-Caribbean textured hair while introducing them to new artists inspired by, and using this texture of hair as a muse. By doing so, it aims to break down stereotypical barriers, showing and celebrating the beauty and diversity of Afro-Caribbean hair through art, language and memories.
Carol Dunn
As activist and curator Carol Dunnseeks to create dialogue through engaging with subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, slavery, racism, and feminism, often investigating those aspects that are all too frequently hidden or misrepresented. The overall basis of her practice is grounded on creating or adding to Black Space where inclusivity and diversity are key. In NOWYOUSEEUSshe explored identity through the lived experiences of womxn of colour with Afro-Caribbean hair, creating an on-line exhibition of newly commissioned artworks, a group audio talk and interviews.http://nowyouseeus.org
Hannah Benassi – Expanded Attitudes
Hannah Benassideveloped a publication collaboratively with the artists Sean Ellcombe, Naomi McClure and Masaki Ishikawa Reflecting on the isolation of lockdown and the restrictions caused by Covid-19, this publication provides a space for three contemporary painters to reflect on previous completed projects and share new experimental developments in their practices. Focusing on the expanded field of painting and its different working processes,Expanded Attitudespresents a variety of work from linear drawings to three-dimensional models. This publication chronicles the artists’ creative processes during the pandemic while considering changing identities in contemporary painting. https://www.hannahjbenassi.com/publications
Hannah Braithwaite having been touched on the surface
Toronto-based curator and writer, Hannah Braithwaite, has created an A zine and online appendix for queer women to reflect on the spaces they inhabit and create. Initiated by Hannah in collaboration with, and featuring new writing from, Hannah Karpinski and Isabelle Joy-Stephen, having been touched on the surfaceexplores queer friendships, ephemera, and domestic space. The zine will be published in a limited run autumn of 2020. The online appendix is now accessible at https://surfacezine.tumblr.com
Students following the MLitt in Fine Art practice have made work in a wide range of media from paintings inspired by the pensive figures of Piero Della Francesca and Giotto to photographs taken in the unique landscape of the Sonora desert and screen printed “maps”. Among the artists showcasing work is Soniya Ahmed, winner of the first Issachar Fund Art Prize
Images: Alexander Anderson, Whiskers and Feathers; Claire Kidd – Times of Entanglement
My deepening encounter of this place is informed by the memory of my mother’s words about the desert, and a desire to honour her through my work in her land.
Alexander Anderson
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and with the resulting lockdowns, American artist Alexander Andersontook refuge in the childhood home of his late mother in Phoenix, Arizona. There he engaged with the remarkable landscape of the Sonora Desert andfrequented an art sanctuary The Land With No Name located in the high desert grasslands of occupied Tohono O’odham ancestral lands.
“In listening to the wind, people throughout the ages have reached to hear the voice and breath of God to point or guide them in certain directions. People speak of going where the wind takes us, to succumb to the will and power of the forces of the greater universe, and to honour and respect its origin. In its physicality, wind originates from earth herself, a voice of Mother Nature, a wellspring from the Motherland. I like to think of this as an ephemeral presentation of a guiding force, not dissimilar to the voice of a nurturing parent. As I sit in the realities of both global and personal loss, I believe there is access to an ancient knowledge in the gesture of visually capturing something that is both powerful and fleeting, an attempt to transcribe the invisible and intelligible conversations between the heavens and the earth.”
I have spent much of this year lost and I quite like where I have found myself.
Claire Kidd
Claire Kidd’s practice seeks to explore the surreality and magic found in travel and in the disorientation that the pandemic has brought to all of our lives. Visiting Pakistan and farming saline crops in the remote Glenshiel area during the pandemic were the source of her own discombobulation and it is from these experiences that her body of work was created and informed.
“I have spent this year tip-toeing between reality and absurdity, between familiarity and the foreign, between myself and others. I have never fully committed myself to any side, instead finding compassion in the space between polarities. Through the painting of vivid, complex and uncanny compositions, I engage others in moments of reverie and compassion. I welcome them into unreal places and help them “vault the mere blue air” that Toni Morrison suggests to be between ourselves and others.”
“I have been creating these pieces mainly through screen-printing on multiple surfaces such as paper, canvas, perspex, wood and sandpaper. I also discovered a new interest in stone lithography, but due to COVID-19 and not being able to have access to the studio and workshops, my methods have had to change. For the final part of my degree I have been mono-printing (using a silkscreen), drawing and stitching.”
Images: Louise Stewart, The Town, Niamh McGuiness Vessel No 3 Dripping Triptych
Louise Stewart’swork focuses on map making looking at three areas she has lived in: Whitchurch, Liverpool and Glasgow. The maps are based on either memories of areas (past), on walking and drawing simultaneously in an area and then using those drawings to create prints (present) or on predictions of what could change (future). “The ‘past’ maps are a mixture of memories and stories I’ve been told and have elements of childhood drawings overlapping them. The ‘present’ maps contain more words, thoughts of journeys and conversations on them. The images are also influenced by lockdown and how this changes the outlook on an area. Finally, the ‘future’ maps are questioning what will change in these strange times? and the hopes I have for the future.”
Niamh McGuinness’swork is primarily concerned with place and time. It is also a response to having to abruptly return to her rural childhood home in the west of Ireland from Glasgow city as a result of the pandemic.
“This work is an attempt to visually explore heritage as empathy. It is based on the many Holy Wells and Grottos that are common in rural Ireland. These sculptural vessels, from construction to ruination, are an attempt to narrate the transferal of the energies that linger in these ancient places of worship. Borrowing from the architecture of these sites, these vessels are constructed in a pure form and then intentionally stained and sullied. Natural inks and elixir like liquids flow from one vessel to the other, leaving diaphanous and permanent stains on the structure.”
Soniya Ahmed Time and Free Will; Thomas Graystone, Floorplan
My recent work has been rooted in coming to terms with lockdown,
and thinking a lot about my own domestic environment,
and how to present work at a time of separation.
Thomas Graystone
Thomas Graystone has built a 3D rendered digital tenement, that incorporates video game based elements to allow movement through the space. It is a reproduction of his flat, filled with uncanny experimentations, manipulated 3D objects, video projections, and gateways to the physical. Within the space there are hyperlinked objects that take viewers to a contact form, which offers the opportunity to be sent, in the post, a variety of physical objects the artist has made.
“I have wanted to consider how to break down the boundary of the screen in a time where we are, more or less, restricted by it. I want to create a very direct dialogue with the viewer, a chance to experience an assumed tactility of the objects within the digital space, and more of a link with the anonymous maker behind the screen.”
