MFA Summer Exhibition 2016 - Media Release

Press release

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY MFA SUMMER EXHIBITION

PREVIEW FRIDAY 19TH AUGUST 6 PM


“There are a diverse array of points that link together each of the works with one another. A myriad of different paths can be traced along this matrix. The wayfarer in this exhibition is liberated to walk about, to wander in an exploratory fashion.”

Newcastle University’s Master of Fine Art students will soon take over the Fine Art department, creating a labyrinth of contemporary art for audiences to lose themselves in during the annual MFA Summer Exhibition.

Artist studios will be transformed into a wild array of spaces. Audiences will be able to experience an architectural playground, acocoon of sound, a hybrid zoo and illuminated mountains, as they navigate their way through everything from a working film set to edible sculpture; fantastical beasts to landscape poetry; multidimensional animation to explorations in time and space. Final year student Yein Son says, “the space is changing each moment… we can be creators, producers and curators at the same time.”

Hailing from as far away as New Zealand, Korea, China and USA and as close as Hexham, this diverse group encompasses a diversity of approaches, styles and genres. There is something for everyone: painting, sculpture, drawing, video, sound, animation, performance, light, collage, installation and printmaking. Through such a multiplicity of approaches, the exhibition will feature works that reflect the range of backgrounds the artists come from and explore contemporary issues.

For these emerging artists, the MFA provides an opportunity to extend their practice, as the two-year programme encourages experimentation. As Mehan Fernando, in his first year of the programme, says, “my current work is focused on combining different materials to create hybrids. It will be exciting to see the outcome of my piece once it has gone through an experimentation process.”

The two-year, studio-based MFA programme is designed to enable students to further develop their careers as professional artists. The exhibition combines the work of first year Master’s students, alongside the work of those second year students who will be graduating, and this year will also feature several PhD candidates.

“The two-year course gives these artists the opportunity to explore their practice in depth,” says Head of Fine Art Richard Talbot. “The lead up to the exhibition is a very exciting time and we are looking forward to seeing what the students produce in August.”

“Let yourself anarchically play with space, steps, distance, duration, angle and speed as you manoeuvre the exhibition like the operator of a steadicam. Annotate your movements with the productive force of your imagination, merging and linking the pieces on display in your own idiosyncratic manner.”

The exhibition preview on Friday 19th August begins at 6 pm with performance times being advised closer to the time.


ARTISTS ARE:



Anna MacRae

Bex Harvey

Hannah Elizabeth Cooper


Harriet Sutcliffe

Helen Shaddock

James Quin


Jim Lloyd

Liying Zhao

Mehan Fernando


Michael Mulvihill

Mirela Bistran

Pipi Lovell-Smith


Yein Son



–ENDS–


NOTES FOR EDITORS:


PREVIEW | FRIDAY 19th AUGUST, 6 PM


EXHIBITION RUNS FROM SATURDAY 20th AUGUST- SATURDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER | CLOSED SUNDAYS.


NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY FINE ART DEPARTMENT.
FREE ADMISSION


The MFA Exhibition will run at the same time as the Creative Arts Practice MA Degree Show, showcasing interactive digital artworks and performance from Culture Lab. Further details on both shows can be provided.


For further information on the MFA exhibition and artists or for a media kit, please contact:


Mirela Bistran


M.Bistran1@newcastle.ac.uk


http://fineart.ncl.ac.uk/ma2016/

Casting commences at 1 Royal Terrace

The second half of my mammoth plaster delivery arrived at 1 Royal Terrace, and I began my first batch of casting.

I met with Petter and Ruth from the Royal Terrace committee, and we had a good discussion about deadlines for images, copy the press release and so on. We also talked about options for the in conversation event, and confirmed that it will take place on Sunday 19th January. More details will follow in due course.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 22

presents

Studio Projects 2013:

New work by Helen Shaddock

 
(Gallery 3)

and

Solaris Simulacra

 
by Pauline McCloy and Rebecca Green

 
(Gallery 2)

Market Gallery, Glasgow

15th March - 12th April 2012

Opening Friday 15th March 2013 6pm - 9pm

Market Gallery Residency - Day 15

As I look at my makeshift calendar on the wall It is hard to believe that I am already half way through the residency. How time flies when you are having fun! It is slightly daunting how little time there is until the exhibition opening, but I will continue to make the most of the space and time, and hope that I am able to achieve what I want and intend to.

After work, I met with Kirsty from the Market Gallery committee to work on the press release for the Studio Projects exhibition.

I then added some more layers to the various forms. I am beginning to realise how large these are, as I am getting through plaster like nobody's business! I am experiencing a few problems with making such large batches of plaster, as it is much harder to mix and  distribute the pigment, polymer and plaster evenly. Pouring the plaster is also difficult, and the speed at which it pours causes there to be lots more air bubbles that when pouring smaller amounts.

It is not easy to move some of the large moulds, and therefore creating hollow forms is not possible. I am concerned with how heavy the filled sculptures are, and am thinking about how I could make them lighter. Perhaps filling the centre with a material such as expanding foam or newspaper would be one way of doing this.