MANCHESTER School of Art’s final year students’ work exhibition opens on Saturday 16 June until Wednesday 20 June. The design side of the course is being exhibited in Quay House and features work in the fields of embroidery, fashion, graphic design, illustration, interior design, textiles and three dimensional art.
The show is a fitting testament not only to the fresh crop of innovative artists, but also to Manchester School of Art’s ability to accommodate the broadest visions and foster a disparate collection of raw talent.
The vibrancy and variety of the exhibition is overwhelming with pieces ranging from miniature voodoo figurines to vast swathes of intoxicatingly luminous dresses. The tone and intentions of the pieces are as disparate as their creators who will be proudly overlooking the visitors’ perusal of their work.
The embroidery section highlights the malleability of the protean art form. Jordan Hargreaves’ work juxtaposes a poignant barrage of doom-mongering headlines with the traditionally sentimental embroidery medium. Conversely Jack Godden’s work expands the boundaries of the form fabricating a vibrant pin board, tempting interaction with his cartoon creation.
The section of the gallery devoted to sculptural art accentuates the continued progression of art through technology with displays including ceramics, woodwork and glassware. Asha Diveney-Clegg describes technology as ‘opening new doors but leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.’ Her display ‘Lens Perception’ evokes the contradicting forces of past and future through an extraordinary infusion of glassware with wood. The damage caused by the intrusion of glass into wood accentuating the suggestion of time’s ravaging effects on nature.
Similarly April Pebble Owens explores our relationship with nature through art. Her cultivation of plant growth within brick structures is an impressive blend of natural and man made constructions complemented by stunning animation. She explains ‘although we create divides, these bricks are not enough to stop the adaptation of plants, they survive and their strength is unfathomable.’
The interior design section of the exhibition is a visually arresting selection of intricate 3D modelling accompanied by high concept anthropological theories explaining the complex spacial structures mapped out by the students.
The fashion and textiles section are accompanied by screenings of the fashion shows which took place in both London and Manchester allowing the visitors to experience the garments both first hand and modelled. The variety of garments is understandably eclectic with ideas as outlandish as Rebecca Scarlett Stant’s collection inspired by ‘ridiculous Victorian inventions’.
The show is a fitting testament not only to the fresh crop of innovative artists, but also to Manchester School of Art’s ability to accommodate the broadest visions and foster a disparate collection of raw talent.
Each section of the display will be accompanied by a booklet created by the department describing the works on show and providing the artists’ details. Other sections of the school’s output will be on display at Manchester Metropolitan University's All Saints Campus.
