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/