2023 Exhibition highlights the strengths of art practice combined with emerging technologies
The Glasgow School of Art’s Postgraduate Degree Show 2023 opens in Glasgow from tomorrow in what is one of Glasgow’s largest public exhibitions of work from some of the world’s leading creative graduates. The renowned fine art, design, architecture exhibition showcases a new generation of graduating master’s work from across the specialist schools at The Glasgow School Of Art’s Glasgow Campus: School of Fine Art, School of Design, Mackintosh School of Architecture, School of Innovation and School of Simulation and Visualisation from 25 August until 10 September.
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 graduating students’ works intersect with many of the main themes that run across the entire degree show this year and are also available to experience digitally by a global audience in an accompanying digital showcase.
These themes address key social issues including climate impacts, gender identity and performance, autobiography, post-colonial discourse and sustainability. There is also a broad scope of work where emerging technologies, artificial intelligence and virtual reality tools support insight, inspiration and solutions to creative, medical, social and spacial questions.
Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art said:
“Every year our Masters students create inspiring and ground-breaking work, much of it addressing key issues that we face as a society today,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art.
“We are delighted to be welcoming visitors from across our community and from industry to the campus for Postgraduate Degree Show to experience in person the creativity of this latest group of incredibly talented students.”
MLItt in Fine Art Practice graduate Niketa Shetty’s work investigates personal identity, colonial history and the cyclical nature of existence. Shetty’s work explores themes of diaspora, self-identity, spirituality and British Colonial histories. She uses vivid and earthy colours, traditional and modern materials, and a mix of fine art, craft, and design to weave a narrative of Indian philosophy, focusing on the concepts of self, reincarnation and the interconnectedness of all beings. Shetty uses jute and fingerprints as metaphors for her sense of displacement and to explore the colonial exploitation of India’s textile industry by Scotland.
Also part of MLItt in Fine Art Practice, Chris Barnett’s project investigates the intricate connections between allegorical painting, queer bodies and trans histories. Through fluid interplay between visual essay, paintings, song and three-dimensional objects, Barnett explores myths and histories within a deliberately theatrical context. Barnett delves into trans histories, fostering communal myth-making and establishing connections to spirituality and cultural aesthetics. The work deliberately performs focus away from reductionist political or medical discussions of trans and non-binary realities, instead emphasising the rich experiences of trans-feminine individuals, celebrating their joy and power.
MLitt in Art Writing graduate Aurelie Chan Hon Sen’s project focuses on Mauritian culture and her Chinese heritage as a means to explore indigenous and diasporic identities. She has produced a book and various objects which build a world from oral histories, inherited traditions and skills based on memories of her family kitchen. The book is made from wood and paper pages, and highlights simple objects which powerfully represent generational knowledge.
In the School of Simulation and Visualisation Madeleine Guillery has been collaborating with Medtronics, one of the worlds largest medical device manufacturers, and a hand surgeon from the University of Minnesota, to develop a Virtual Reality training simulation about the anatomy of the hand in order to help surgeons to learn more about finger ring avulsion injuries.
Natalia Chrzanowska & Rowan Anne Fitzpatrick are collaborating with the Scottish Ambulance Service to develop and design an app that combines augmented reality with interactive tools to help doctors and medical professionals better understand how the ECG relates to the specific part of the heart that is affected. By being able to interpret the ECG data faster in emergency situations, this app could support quicker diagnosis and thus faster referral to specialised care centres where patients can receive treatments like Primary Percutaneous Coronory Intervention (PPCI).
MDes Fashion and Textiles graduate Yimei Lu’s project Misophonia explores unorthodox approaches to fashion creation using artificial intelligence software – and sound visualisation – to inspire surface, structure and silhouette in her clothing designs. Lu recorded and collected a range of everyday sounds, and utilising AI tools translated them into two and three-dimensional visual and textural forms. Lu then interpreted the shadowy shapes and blurred effects through dye diffusion printing on monofilament mesh – a material not associated with clothing – which none the less can be shaped and sculpted with minimal sewing. The resulting multi-textural and hyper-real designs are simultaneously futuristic and folkloric.
MDes Interior Design graduate Yawen Deng has been working in technology-enabled spatial design to explore cultural heritage preservation. Deng’s work concerns what is often viewed as the loss of tangible experiences of history when archiving materials into purely digital forms. Using a real life site, Linthouse in Glasgow which was built in 1791, Yawen uses VR to tell a story of how the city has changed over time, bringing back a sense of authenticity to digital history through multi-sensory experiences.
Underpinned by Climate change data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency , architecture Gracjan Labowicz proposes a comprehensive future flood damage strategy for Glasgow. Labowicz presents a strategic approach to both establishing a line of critical infrastructure that must be safeguarded in order for the city to function properly, and developing a risk management strategy for roads, transport and hospitals. Labowicz also proposes a series of new infrastructure innovations, including ‘sponge city’ projects such as wetlands, water reservoirs, and urban water containers.
In the Innovation School Youmei Huang is creating an Augmented Reality game in collaboration with the Glasgow Science Centre to complement some of their space exhibits, exploring the potential use of augmented reality in museum contexts; Sitong Lee is developing a mine-clearance game in collaboration with a land mine museum in Cambodia, the goal of which is to educate people about mines and humanitarian mine action.
Students on the MLitt Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) course meanwhile present the outcomes of a number of exhibitions, performances, publication launches, screenings and workshops.
Lucy Cunningham seeks intimate encounters, with questions and answers stemming from a close listening to others’ experiences of ‘residency.’ Rosie Coleman Collier journals the experience of a nail bar beauty treatment as a prompt for creative and inter-disciplinary response, a mediation on the wider connections, labour and care that unfold through our painted nails. Mollika Khandelwal explores the communicative role of fiction and the “world as process” through in-depth conversations. Katie Garden delves into the transformative power of Japanese craft of Dorodango, embracing the crafts simplicity as a means to self-discovery. Lily Li explores the mutual interconnections and influences that occur between work and life outside of work, highlighting the subtle impact of professional training on our existence. Kyla Watkins group exhibition celebrates nature and sustainability, featuring eco-conscious work from both GSA students and GSA graduates. Fan Zhao’s project seeks to foster understanding and cultural appreciation by engaging women in collaborative recipe sharing, food preparation, communal dining experiences and oral history. At the interplay between design and archival research, Isabelle Belanger explores how archives, objects and their history are transformed into engaging stories and narratives.
Postgraduate Degree Show 2023 Venues and Opening Hours
25 August – 10 September 2023
(25 -31 August)
School of Fine Art, Stow Building, Shamrock Street
(31 August – 10 September)
School of Design, Reid Building, Renfrew Street
Innovation School, Haldane Building, Hill Street
School of Simulation and Visualisation, Haldane Building, Hill Street
Mackintosh School of Architecture, Bourdon Building, Scott Street
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-8pm/Weekends 10am-6pm